A woman has told how she broke down in tears after receiving a letter ordering her to alter a burial plot which contains her son's ashes.

Valerie A’Lee received a letter from Weymouth Town Council which stated the grave at Weymouth Cemetery - which holds her ex-husband Anthony Holmes’ coffin and son, Vinny Holmes’ ashes - ‘has a wood surround which is not permitted’ and that the burial plot was ‘five inches over the maximum length permitted of seven feet.’

The letter, which spelt Mrs A'Lee's name wrong, also listed items which were not permitted on graves. Mrs A'Lee understood this meant she would have to remove some boot decorations with ornamental birds plus some pebbles she had placed at the grave which her late son had painted.

The town council has since clarified this would not be the case and has apologised for the 'distress' the letter caused.

Its directive about the wooden surrround and the size of the plot remains however.

Mrs A'Lee and her family, from Weymouth, are shocked as the grave has been the same for 12 years and no-one has raised the issue with them before.

They have looked into changing the edging to an accepted stone version which will cost them between £600 and £800.

Mrs A'Lee - who received the letter two weeks before the anniversary of her son’s death - said: “I just broke down. I’ve been so bad and then you get a letter like that, I was just in a hell of a state.”

Dorset Echo: Susan Holmes (left) and her mother Valerie A’Lee (right)Susan Holmes (left) and her mother Valerie A’Lee (right) (Image: Hollie Carr)

Tony A’Lee, Mrs A’Lee’s husband said: “We don’t know [why they have an issue], they don’t tell us - why is that an unsightly grave?

“It’s really saddened us because over the years we have kept it tidy and maintained it to the best of our ability.”

Susan Holmes, Mrs A’Lee's daughter, added: “Why are they doing it now, right near Christmas, when everybody is broke?

“I don’t understand the mentality.”

A spokesperson for Weymouth Town Council said: “To ensure we are being fair to everyone who has a plot at the cemetery, there is guidance in place on the size for each plot, and what kind of memorials and kerb edgings are allowed. This is provided to people when they purchase a grave from the council.

“We have carried out routine inspections and recently wrote to the family to advise that their plot was over its allocated size. We also advised that the wooden kerb edging they have had in place is not permitted. We reshared the guidance with them as we understand they would have purchased the plot before we took over full bereavement services for cemeteries in April last year."

They added: “Pots and planting are allowed. It is only in the cremated section of the cemetery where they are restricted. This is also in the guidance shared, which is available on the council’s website.

“We appreciate this is a sensitive matter and we would like to apologise to the family for any distress the letter may have caused.”