A BLACON man has been left devastated after heavy rainfall last week flooded the cemetery grave plot for his wife and son.

Ian Bagley, 73, has been a daily visitor to Blacon Cemetery to visit the plot where his wife Barbara, who passed away in January this year, and his son Stephen, who died 40 years ago, are buried.

But after taking a two-week holiday, Mr Bagley came back to the cemetery with flowers on Friday, June 14, to find the plot had become a puddle filled with floodwater.

He has blamed Cheshire West and Chester Council for the lack of maintenance at the plot and not levelling off the ground, meaning there will be a further delay before a planned headstone can be placed.

Mr Bagley, who lives on Palatine Close, said: "I had spoken to them six weeks ago about levelling and topping off the land there, but nothing was done.

"I spoke to one of the officers and he said he would speak to the groundsman, and that was six weeks ago.

"I had been on a fortnight's holiday and I come back to this, it's devastating.

"The headstone was due to go on at the end of the six months, which would mean it should have been going on about now.

"If they [the groundsmen] had done it when they should have done it then it would not have been like this.

"My daughter has been on to the Ombudsman about it."

A Cheshire West and Chester Council spokesman said: "Following the high level of rainfall, the council became aware that water had pooled on the surface of a grave at Blacon Cemetery.

"This occurred after the earth had sunk slightly following the normal settlement of a grave after burial.

"The recent downpours have resulted in the water pooling rather than naturally soaking away as it might otherwise.

"The council has inspected the plot and observed that the water has now subsided as the rain has eased.

"The grave has been levelled off this week, and also at least once since the burial took place, and has had grass seed applied to it."