Mother ordered to remove memorial from baby son's grave as it wasn't made of stone

Baby Callum died in 2010 of pneumonia, and his grieving mother Leanne Thompson had a memorial installed at his grave - but has been ordered to tear it down over a technicality

A mother has been left "absolutely heartbroken" after being told by council bosses to remove a memorial from her baby son’s grave because it was not made of stone.

Little Callum died of pneumonia in 2010 and mum Leanne Thompson, 35, decided to have a new memorial installed at his grave around a year ago. The grieving mother spent around £600 for Agecroft Memorials to fit it at the Grimsby Cemetery plot.

Leanne said before she ordered the memorial made from acrylic resin, she contacted the council to obtain permission and claims she was told it would be fine as long as the feature was fitted by herself or the external company.

However, this week she was left devastated when a letter from the council said the memorial was "unauthorised" because it is not made of stone. Leanne told GrimsbyLive: "My heart went in my mouth and I just started crying. I was absolutely heartbroken.

“I spoke to the council because I wanted a memorial garden for Callum. Before I went ahead with it I rang them and told them it was made out of acrylic resin, and the man on the phone said: 'Normally it's stone, but leave it with me, I'll check and get back to you'.

"A couple of days later he got back to me and said I can have it as long as I can fit it myself, so I went ahead and had it fitted. I've always wanted him to have a really nice, bright garden and have somewhere to go and sit with him. Agecroft Memorials have been absolutely fantastic and I designed it all myself. Everything I wanted, they did, and it was made absolutely to perfection. He loved Iggle Piggle.”

Leanne said she has attempted to call the council to discuss the letter, but has encountered issues when doing so. She said she can't understand what harm the memorial was doing to anybody.

She added: “It's been there nearly a year, so why now? It's not doing any harm to anybody, it's no danger, it's not sharp, the stones are inside.

"It's a lot safer than half of the stones that are in there which are half falling down, so why is my son's grave bothering them when they really need to concentrate on these big stones which are half fallen down and a danger to people and they're just putting tape around them?

"We paid for the plot through the council - it says in black and white we are the landowner, that is our grave - so we should be able to do whatever we like as long as it's safe. The council can't dictate to us how we dress it, it's acrylic resin and it lasts years. It's not doing any harm.

"I'm trying to fight in all ways to keep it where it is, and I'm not going to back down. People don't have the money these days to pay £3,000 for a headstone."

The letter from the council reads: “I would be obliged if you could remove this memorial from the cemetery no later than 30th September 2023. After this date, North East Lincolnshire Council reserve the right to remove this from the cemetery and will not accept liability for any damage caused by removal."

A spokesperson for North East Lincolnshire Council said: “Our staff are always willing to help families with any enquiries about cemetery regulations and how they apply to a loved one’s grave. The regulations have been in place for many years and it’s important that we treat all grave owners equally when dealing with such sensitive matters.

“All memorials must be installed by a registered monumental mason and comply with British Standards. This memorial is made of plastic, which quickly deteriorates and becomes brittle. In the past, we’ve found these memorials are easily damaged and when they break, they are very sharp.

“An application needs to be submitted and permission given in writing before a memorial can be installed. They also need to be insured. It can be upsetting when we ask someone to change a loved one’s grave and we have invited the family to speak with us to discuss this sensitive matter further.”

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