CHECKS will be carried out this month to ensure cemetery memorials are safe.

The checks are being carried out by Salisbury City Council as part of its memorial safety programme and will start in the Devizes Road cemetery.

A statement from the city council said: “As the land owner, Salisbury City Council is obliged to undertake this work to ensure that its cemeteries are safe places for the public to visit.”

All memorials over 625mm in height will be tested.

The council says that “any memorials found to be unsafe will be either laid flat, secured with a temporary stake and banded, or cordoned off to ensure that they do not present a risk to visitors to the cemetery.

The statement added: “Salisbury City Council will not repair any memorials as it is the grave owner’s responsibility to do so, and only British Register of Accredited Memorial Masons (BRAMM) members can repair memorials in the cemeteries.

“Salisbury City Council will endeavour to carry out this with minimal disruption. However, we ask that any visitors to the cemetery take note of the warning signs and exercise caution near memorials during this testing.”