UK: Grieving mother told to remove memorial from infant son's grave

A grieving mother in the UK is being asked by the authorities to remove a cartoon-themed memorial erected on the grave of her son who passed away in infancy. The reason? The memorial is not made of stone.

Leanne Thompson's five-month-old son Callum died in his sleep in 2010.

Last year she made a GBP 600headstone for his grave based on a kids' TV show In the Night Garden which had Callum's favourite character Iggle Piggle.

She has now been contacted by North East Lincolnshire Council and has been asked to remove the memorial. Thompson has been told that the memorial does not comply with British standards as it is made from acrylic resin and it may deteriorate. Thompson has been given till September 30 to remove the memorial.

“Out of all of the graves in that yard, they’ve picked out a baby’s grave. It does stand out because it’s bright, because that’s what I wanted for him," she said, as quoted by The Independent.

“It’s absolutely heartbreaking. People have been saying that it’s nice but it is a bit too much, but that’s just because it’s colourful."

“It’s minimalistic – it’s only got a few things on it and that’s it. It’s not over the top with ornaments or anything.”

“He used to have a swinging chair and would sit in front of the telly and he would start kicking his little legs and arms about when he would see Iggle Piggle," said Thompson, explaining her son's love for the cartoon character.

Thompson, who is from Grimsby, said she had even contacted the council before making the memorial and had enquired of any possible trouble. She says she was told it was fine.

But now the council is insisting on the removal of the memorial since it is made of acrylic.

“I just can’t see the problem," she told the Independent.

“There’s been some wooden crosses that have been there for years and they have become brittle and snap and become sharp.

“They even put fences in the cemetery and there’s bits and nails hanging off.

“You can buy grave pots and vases that are plastic. You can even buy pots for flowers from funeral homes and they are made out of pot.

“All you have to do is pick it up and it will smash. Nothing lasts forever.”

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