SAFETY check procedures at Kidderminster Cemetery are to be reviewed amid continuing complaints from shocked relatives.

Many have been left dismayed and angry at finding headstones surrounded by wooden supports or tied with safety bands because they have been classed as dangerous.

Dozens of people, who are facing repair bills of £200, have accused Wyre Forest District Council of "desecration".

The authority carried out safety inspections under the Health and Safety Act to ensure gravestones which are thought to pose immediate danger are made safe.

Members of the council's commercial services policy and scrutiny panel, however, have now called for a full report on how the checks are being carried out.

Liberal councillor Mike Oborski, who represents Offmore and Comberton, said he had been inundated with complaints in the run-up to the festive period. He is concerned at how the authority is approaching the issue and whether enough is being done to contact relatives.

He said: "Like a number of councillors I've been approached by angry, concerned and deeply upset local residents over recent safety checks on the safety of memorials.

"Some have visited graves to find wooden stakes and plastic bands around the headstone saying they are unsafe. They feel the authority has desecrated people's gravestones."

He added: "It's possible to understand graves being unsafe from, say, 1810 but some of these graves which are being deemed as unsafe are only 10 to 12 years old. Can the substantial number of graves which have been banded and had notices placed on them be in any way attributed to inadequate cemetery upkeep and maintenance regimes on our part?"

Burial authorities were spurred into action after nationwide concern over the safety of memorial stones. Figures reveal 21 serious accidents over the past five years, including three fatalities.

Councillor Marcus Hart, the district council's cabinet member for commercial services, said: "As an authority I think we have been compassionate and very sympathetic over a sensitive issue.

"We are required to do the work by the Health and Safety Executive and we follow best practice guidelines.

"We have done our best to inform relatives but obviously some people have moved out of the area.

"We contacted various religious groups and stone-masons, the local media and put a large piece on our website about it. There were also signs outside the cemetery to inform people we were carrying out these tests.

"We also have two full-time staff who carry out the maintenance of the cemetery to a very high standard and we can assure people that no damage was caused to headstones as a result of these safety checks.

"Anyone who needs advice as to how they can get their gravestone repaired is urged to contact parks and gardens officer, Tim Johnson."