Young cause distress at cemetery

Youngsters congregating in a village cemetery are upsetting people who have family buried there by removing flowers, playing football between the headstones and drinking.

There have been complaints about the inappropriate behaviour of young people in Mount Road Cemetery, Balderton.

Speaking at the amenities committee of Balderton Parish Council on Wednesday, the clerk, Mrs Cheryl Davison-Lyth, said: “Children have been seen playing football between the headstones. They were playing in there all day on Saturday.

“It’s very distressing when flowers are moved or stolen.

“They are causing general mayhem. They have said that it’s somewhere they like to hang around.”

She said litter, including condoms, had been found in the cemetery.

Mr James Brown, the council’s head groundsman, said those causing problems were aged from seven or eight up to their 20s.

He said: “I have been in there and people are bringing drink in at 9.30am and by 4pm they are drunk.”

The area is covered by a designated public place order allowing police to seize alcohol but Mrs Davison-Lyth said it had made no difference.

Mrs Lydia Hurst said she would raise the matter at a public meeting about policing in the village on Wednesday.

She said she had contacted Balderton Health Centre to ask if its security cameras could pan around the cemetery.

“A cemetery is not a place for children to be,” said Mrs Hurst.

“It is hallowed ground and people are obviously going to get upset.”

Mrs Betty Brooks asked if mobile security cameras could be used at the cemetery.

Mr Gordon Brooks said: “There was a problem in the village two years ago. A portable camera was then put in and it cleared the problem in one week.”

Mrs Angela Jarvis said she spoke to children who described the cemetery as one of their favourite meeting points.

She said they told her a youth bus provided by Nottinghamshire County Council was not big enough.

Mrs Olga Newstead said: “The children need somewhere to go.

“There are lots of clubs and interesting places they can join but some youngsters have a mentality that wouldn’t fit in with a club.

“They need to somewhere to vent their energy.”

The council agreed to write to John Hunt and Chuter Ede primary schools to make them aware of the issues.

Members heard there had already been contact with the Grove School.