Nottingham City Council has been criticised on GB News by local resident Paul Mason over its “absolutely crazy” decision to remove tributes left on his mother’s grave without warning.
Paul Mason, 54, from Carlton Hill, complained to the council after items were removed from his mother’s resting place at Wilford Hill Crematorium cemetery without warning.
Speaking on the People’s Channel, Mason called out the Labour-run council’s “disgusting” handling of the matter.
“My dad set the grave up 35 years ago when my mother passed away and he was responsible for the grave”, he said.
Paul Mason was outraged at the treatment afforded to his mother’s gravestone
PA / GB NEWS
“My dad passed away eight years ago and there has been no communication about who owns the grave now. Apparently it ran out in 2020, so for five years, we were none the wiser as to who owned the grave.
“They have now a policy that says they can remove everything because they own the ground. They said they wrote to us but none of us received anything of any kind.
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“My dad moved house nearly 30 years ago so if they wrote to his old address… it’s absolutely crazy.
“To take things away and throw them in the bin and not inform you and say they have a right to do that, it’s just disgusting.
“The graves have been driven over by their vans and the tyre marks have been there for over two years. They’ve not done a thing. They’re telling lots of fibs.
“It’s just disgusting.”
Paul Mason criticised Nottingham City Council on GB News
GB NEWS
Mason, who visits the grave weekly, found a plant box, small bush and solar light had been removed on February 2.
The removal was part of a new council policy from October 2024 that allows items to be cleared from graves without notice.
The dispute centres on grave ownership, which expired around 2020 after Mr Mason’s father passed away eight years ago.
The council said they sent policy change letters to registered grave owners, but these went to his late father’s old address.
Mason criticised the cemetery manager’s ‘bolshy’ and unsympathetic response to his complaints.
A council spokesperson told Nottinghamshire Live they “fully appreciate” this is a sensitive situation and explained there are different types of graves with specific rules about memorials.
The council added that recent weather conditions had affected the grounds, but promised affected areas would be restored.
GB News has approached the council for comment.