SAFETY concerns over gravestones have been branded as  “health and safety gone mad”.

An angry resident has complained after being told to carry out repairs.

The grave of Mike Clapham’s wife and son in Bedale churchyard is one of up to 50 that have been marked as requiring work by the burial board after an inspection.

Most of the marked graves date back only to the 1990s. Mr Clapham said he could find no problems with the stone, nor could the stonemason who erected it in the first place.

“He said he couldn’t see anything wrong with it, I have pushed it as hard as I possibly can and I can’t move it at all. The letter they sent out doesn’t indicate what is supposed to be wrong with it, I suggested that the members of the burial board go down and try to push the stone over themselves. It is health and safety gone mad,” said Mr Clapham.

“Friends have also tried to move it and they have not been able to. I have no intention of doing anything.

Bedale, Aiskew and Leeming Bar and Burill Joint Burial Authority said in a statement they appreciated it is a very emotive and sensitive subject.

They add: “The JBA has a statutory responsibility for public safety in the cemetery. Notices detailing the testing of the memorials were displayed in July 2016. Following a risk assessment which was completed in August 2017, the report indicated safety concerns with some of the headstones.

"As all memorials remain the responsibility of the family, we have written to the families who have contacted the JBA. We are searching our records for contact details of the remaining families. This is proving to be quite difficult and the JBA welcomes contact from concerned relatives."