EXPERTS predict one in five headstones in Worcester graveyards could be in danger of toppling over.

And those put up in recent years may be among the least stable of the 27,000 monuments in St John's and Astwood cemeteries.

Initial trials to test their safety began this week, using the latest high precision topple testing equipment, applying 35kg of pressure.

Working on behalf of the city council are JH Landscapes of Burton-on-Trent, which has just completed a similar exercise for East Staffs Borough Council.

Expert John Haywood, of JH Landscapes, said this week's Worcester trial had shown a similar ratio of headstones requiring immediate attention as were found in East Staffordshire.

"Contrary to what some people might imagine, the least stable are often those put up in the last 35 years," he said.

Councils have been ordered to make sure all headstones are safe after a national spate of graveyard accidents and cemeteries staff are now trying to trace the owners.

"It's a monumental task in more ways than one," said parks and cemeteries officer Ian Yates.

"We've already had a good response to an appeal for relatives to come forward, but we're only too aware that the chances of tracing all 27,000 owners are pretty slim.

"The earliest monument dates from 1853 and in most cases all we have to go on is their last known address."

Once formal testing begins, the council will cordon off unsafe headstones and advise owners on the best way to repair them, such as drilling and doweling or repairing with a rapid-sealing compound.

In cases where descendants cannot be traced, unsafe headstones will have to be dismantled and re-positioned with up to a third of their height buried underground.

Mr Yates said it was virtually impossible to forecast how long it would take to complete the repairs, or how much it was likely to cost, but the city council is bracing itself for a £500,000 bill.

"We'll be categorising the headstones into three priority levels over the next few weeks, but even at the end of this programme of repairs, the whole process begins again in four years' time.

"In the meantime it's in everyone's interest to keep children away from the burial areas," he said.