A VILLAGE cemetery at the centre of a community furore after more than 120 gravestones were flattened for ‘health and safety’ reasons has now been restored to its previous condition.

There was outrage last year in Porlock when contractors left the Hawkcombe cemetery looking as if a tornado had swept through it.

Parish councillors had asked for headstones to be identified which were unstable and in danger of falling over following advice from the Government after the death elsewhere of a child crushed by a memorial.

By contrast, potentially problematic gravestones in Porlock’s St Dubricius Churchyard were marked and warning notices placed on gateways while the diocese decided what to do.

Now, the council has had the Hawkcombe headstones righted and has decided not to pursue families to recover the cost because of the complexity of tracing relatives of those buried many years ago.

Porlock businessman Richard Growden, who led complaints about the ‘desecration’ and has since been appointed as a lay member to a newly-created parish council burials and memorials committee, said he was delighted with the result.

Mr Growden, who buried his 92-year-old mother Melody Keeling in the cemetery just a month before the debacle, said he had gone through a tragic time, a tale of sadness caused by her unexpected death, only to find three weeks later the simple wooden cross on her grave had been flattened.

He praised the Free Press for highlighting the issue to a wider audience, resulting in pressure on the council to act.

Mr Growden said: “The parish council had to react to the distress of so many, something that they clearly had not thought about.

“Through parish council meetings and much soul-searching the council formed a committee to deal with the desecration of the cemetery and so to start a road to repair.

“I joined the committee as a non-parish council member and with chairman Jim Adlington, who is a true Porlock survivor and legend, proceeded to ensure the cemetery was made good.

“I can now report, and I can lay my arms down and say that Porlock Cemetery is once again a place where people can rest in peace.

“So, grateful thanks to Jim for his sterling support to my quest and, of course, the stone merchant who has repaired, re-sited, and re-established so many graves that were desecrated by a firm who had no thought for anybody other than themselves and their pockets.

“Thank you to everybody who assisted to make this happen and although Porlock Parish Council at the beginning were in denial, they stepped up and represented the people of our parish in the way they should.

“I rest my case, I can be laid to rest when the time comes in Porlock Cemetery and peacefully next to my mother and brother.”

At the height of the furore, councillors opened one of their monthly meetings for villagers to express their feelings while they looked urgently at the steps they could take to put matters right.