DECORATIVE work to a Watchet grave which resulted in a highly public dispute with town councillors has been removed by the family concerned.

The rubber kerbing and loose slate infill was taken away by the Perkins family before a deadline set by the authority, after which councillors said they would commission the work and charge for it.

But now the family are demanding a public meeting with councillors to air their grievances and ask for the graveyard’s policies to be reviewed.

Buried in the plot at Watchet Cemetery, next to St Decuman’s Church, Brendon Road, are Ronald and Julia Perkins, who died just a month apart in 2022.

Their son and daughter-in-law Martin and Tracey Perkins, of Flowerdale Road, Watchet, had wanted to give the grave an attractive and distinctive look.

A petition supporting the family was signed by nearly 1,000 residents and handed in to the town council before councillors issued their ‘move it or lose it’ ultimatum.

Mrs Perkins told the Free Press: “We moved everything that was there because they said they were going to do it and charge us for it.

“We did not want the council to get rid of everything, so we have put the material in storage ready to put back if we can.

“But they have still not told everybody else to remove their things from the other graves.

“We want a public meeting organised because there is so much public outcry about it. We want to know why the community are not being listened to.”

Mrs Perkins said anybody who agreed with the family should write to the council in support of a public meeting being called.

The town council said agreed policies were in place to cover the authority and the public should an accident or injury happen within the cemetery.

Only a memorial vase with fresh flowers at the base of the headstone was permitted and any other work would need a permit from the council before it could be allowed.