The recent notice displayed at Sileby Cemetery has caused local bereaved families a huge amount of upset and distress. The notice states that 'unauthorised memorials' on our loved ones graves must be removed straight away or they will be removed by the Council on 20th April 2018.

This decision has been made without any consultation with deed-holders and definitely without considering the feelings of the families affected by it. The minutes found online from the Sileby Parish Council meeting in January 2018 state that deed-holders will be 'met halfway' and be allowed a foot of space following the headstone to maintain how we wish. They failed to mention this on the notice displayed at the cemetery. Despite only hearing of this decision now (March 2018) the minutes regarding this matter date back to August 2017.

On a personal note, my family and I visit our baby son's grave very often and it is a huge part of our lives to be able to decorate his grave as we wish. Our children regularly visit with us and bring toys, and this to us will be a tradition for the rest of our lives. We have no other way of making memories with our son and if this honour is taken away from us, the result of that would be beyond devastating. A vital part of the grieving process for any bereaved family is visiting their loved ones grave and bringing flowers/ornaments etc and making it look personal to them.

Having a number of small ornaments and decorations does not affect the maintenance of the cemetery - our son has been there for almost 4 years now and the cemetery always looks well maintained and the grass around each grave is always cut neatly with no problems. There has been silence from the Council regarding this matter until now, yet there have always been memorials there. I find it extremely difficult to understand how pretty ornaments and well presented graves stop the cemetery from being a "safe, tranquil and dignified environment" as quoted from the notice displayed.

I urge Sileby Parish Council to reconsider their decision as the hurt and upset caused by this will affect individuals for their entire lifetime.

This petition will be sent to Sileby Parish Council, in particular the Clerk, Mrs Richardson.

Please sign and help us to keep Sileby Cemetery as the beautiful, peaceful place that it is.