A DARLINGTON cemetery has been branded “a disgrace” by a visitor who has criticised the council for what he says is poor maintenance.

Paul Armstrong, 51, moved from Darlington to Scotland in 2004, but still returns to the town twice a year to put flowers on his mother and stepfather’s graves at North Road Cemetery.

He has been visiting the site since the early 1990s and says he has noticed a marked decline in its upkeep.

On his last visit this week he described how parts of the cemetery are neglected and overgrown and that the grass is not cut properly around the headstones.

He said: “They do cut the grass – you can see where they cut in lines around the graves – but they are not weeding it or looking after it in any other way.

“I just find it disgusting.

“I have noticed that it has been in steady decline over the last four or five years and it’s at the point where you have to take shears to cut around the grave yourself.”

Mr Armstrong’s wife, Morag, added: “It is just not very respectful.

“In Scotland the graveyards are like billiard tables, then you come down here and see the state they are in and it’s just sad.”

A Darlington Borough Council spokeswoman said that it has received no complaints about the state of North Road Cemetery, which is regularly tended to.

She said: "There are two Street Scene workers based in North Road Cemetery who regularly mow the grass and then use a strimmer to cut grass and weeds close to the gravestones.

“There have been a number of burials in the cemetery in recent weeks and these obviously take precedent over grass cutting, but wherever possible, we have continued to carry out regular maintenance work.

“We have had no complaints about the upkeep of the cemetery but now we are aware of Mr Armstrong's concerns we will monitor the situation."