'They've wrecked it': Northampton family laying flowers for Mother's Day find mum's grave torn up

A Northampton woman says her mother's grave has been "wrecked" by groundskeepers who trampled her flowers and smashed ornaments.
Ann O'Sullivan's grave was left "wrecked" by workmen, says her daughter, who found vases broken and flowers trampled.Ann O'Sullivan's grave was left "wrecked" by workmen, says her daughter, who found vases broken and flowers trampled.
Ann O'Sullivan's grave was left "wrecked" by workmen, says her daughter, who found vases broken and flowers trampled.

Kathleen Porteous, 53, from Kingsthorpe, visited Kingsthorpe Cemetary with her dad on Monday (March 5) to lay flowers ahead of Mother's Day.

But she and her family were heartbroken to find the plot "a complete mess", with trampled flowers, broken vases and tyre tracks crisscrossing the grass.

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Kathleen said: "It's just knocked the stuffing out of me. My poor dad is heartbroken and the children were in tears.

Kathleen's mother's grave as she found it. Below, the grave on a recent visit, when the two conifers were still planted.Kathleen's mother's grave as she found it. Below, the grave on a recent visit, when the two conifers were still planted.
Kathleen's mother's grave as she found it. Below, the grave on a recent visit, when the two conifers were still planted.

"You don't go to a grave and expect to see this. The ornaments were smashed. A glass vase was broken. They've wrecked it really.

"We know it wasn't done by kids or something. There are tyre tracks everywhere that could only have come from some sort of digger."

Kathleen's mother, Ann O'Sullivan, died suddenly aged 61 in April 2012. She goes to her grave in Kingsthorpe Cemetary regularly with her family to lay flowers and remember her.

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Kathleen says, since her last visit, two small conifers next to Ann's grave have been pulled up, and believes the workmen must have walked over her mother's plot.

Kathleen believes tyre marks around the grave were left by an on-site digger.Kathleen believes tyre marks around the grave were left by an on-site digger.
Kathleen believes tyre marks around the grave were left by an on-site digger.

She has now lodged a formal complaint with the borough council.

Kingsthorpe cemetery is managed by environmental services contractor Enterprise on behalf of Northampton Borough Council.

A spokesperson for Northampton Borough Council said: “We will investigate this complaint fully and will keep the family informed of our findings.”