THE borough council will begin health and safety tests on headstones in Caister Cemetery next month. It will be the second the time memorial inspectors have carried out tests in a cemetery which has more than 14,000 graves.

THE borough council will begin health and safety tests on headstones in Caister Cemetery next month.

It will be the second the time memorial inspectors have carried out tests in a cemetery which has more than 14,000 graves.

Linda Bigg, bereavement services manager at the borough council, confirmed public notices had been placed in the local press about the inspections, and notices had been on cemetery gates for some time.

The council's headstone health and safety policy caused controversy earlier this year, with relatives claiming memorials which looked perfectly stable were being identified as unsafe, while ageing leaning headstones were left alone.

The council defended its policy saying many headstones suffer water ingress, which damages the cement, causing the joint to fail, leaving the memorial free-standing.