Council apologises for Carluke cemetery heartache

Claire Neilson and other family members visited Wilton Cemetery in Carluke to lay flowers to mark the fourth anniversary of the death of her beloved aunt Fiona Jamieson.

Having left 70 worth of flowers on Monday evening, other family members visited the graveyard on Tuesday to find the flowers had been removed.

After an investigation they discovered that their flowers, along with others, had been dumped underneath a number of holly wreaths and other tributes in the council depot yard outside the cemetery.

Claire said: "When we left the cemetery at 5.10pm on Monday night the flowers were intact. By Tuesday at 3.45pm the flowers were gone.

"Had we not gone back, we would never have known.

"Those involved have been shown no dignity whatsoever! The workers have treated this place like a football park."

A council spokeswoman responded to the family's concerns.

She said: "It is normal practice to remove tributes from around the lairs which have shown decay.

"In this case, the flowers on Ms Neilson's family grave were removed in error and we understand the distress this has caused.

"We have apologised unreservedly to the family for this error and

agreed to replace the floral tribute."

For more information on this story, pick up a copy of the Carluke Gazette which is in the shops now.