Grave danger

OBVIOUSLY the sheer vandalism inflicted on the Kirkcudbright graveyard is deplored by everyone, but I feel it is unfair of Andrew HN Gray (Letters, 24 July) to suggest that all headstones, now flat, have been "pushed over" by council employees.

Undertaking research into a family tree, it was apparent that the manner in which the councils looked after the graveyards varied greatly around Scotland and further research confirmed this.

It is perhaps appropriate to mention that the responsibility for the safety of a head stone lies with the holder of the lair or their descendants but, given the near impossible task of tracing descendants, councils, responsible for the safety of their own employees, have assumed this responsibility.

By using special testing equipment, a council can determine whether or not a headstone is unsafe and, if so, lift and lay it in a manner which enables the inscription still to be read. I know of no council where the stones are "pushed over" — indeed they all vehemently deny any such suggestion.

In Edinburgh there are now some 9,483 headstones that were deemed unsafe and have been lifted, using a special frame, and laid flat — with the inscription face up so it could still be read.

The rebuilding of these headstones, and the others throughout Scotland, would be an ideal use of the new community payback orders — and particularly so in the Kirkcudbright area.

ALAN McKINNEY

Beauchamp Road

Edinburgh