SAFETY inspections of headstones in Beath Cemetery will start from Monday, Fife Council have confirmed.

The local authority are in the process of assessing 100,000 graves across the Kingdom and said that, if some memorial stones require attention, survey teams will make them safe as sympathetically as possible.

They've also said that, if there is a safety risk, larger memorials could be fenced off until specialist contractors can attend.

Liz Murphy, the council's bereavement services manager, said: “Fife Council has a duty of care to provide a safe environment in each of our 115 cemeteries and churchyards for both the public who visit them and council staff who work there.

“I would encourage local people who have kin within this cemetery to get in touch so that we can keep them advised of any remedial work required.

“I would also urge members of the public to be respectful in and around cemeteries and to report any concerns regarding cemetery safety to Fife Council.”

For more information contact Liz by emailing liz.murphy@fife.gov.uk or call 01592 583524.

The bereavement services team were given the mammoth task of assessing 100,000 graves across the Kingdom and, by the end of 2019, of the 10,000 memorial stones that had been reviewed, just under half failed.

The issue of safety in cemeteries came to the fore in May 2015 when an eight-year-old boy, Ciaran Williamson, was killed in Glasgow when a seven-foot headstone fell on top of him.

A young child was then injured at Inverkeithing Cemetery in August 2016 by an unstable headstone.

All local authorities have been asked to carry out inspections and in Fife that includes 115 cemeteries and church yards.