TOWN councillors have criticised the Diocese of Exeter after their request to replace a memorial stone for the sister of Okehampton's greatest benefactor was rejected.

The town council had asked the diocese if it could replace the headstone of Sophia Simmons, which stands within the family plot in the churchyard of All Saints Parish Church, next to the grave of Sydney Simmons.

Any new stone would have been in the same style as the original, with the same wording and styled engraving.

Sydney Simmons was born in the 1830s in Okehampton and spent the early years of his life in the town, later giving it its park, castle and a number of almshouses.

His sister Sophia was born on August 10 1829, dying on June 25 1869, aged 39.

Over a number of years, Sophia's headstone has slowly broken apart, with a large part of the grave's faceplate now broken.

The diocese has contacted the council to request that the grave be refaced rather than replaced altogether.

Councillors criticised the decision and the slow response from the diocese, with the issue now having been discussed for well over two years.

Cllr Michael Ireland said: 'Having seen the stone, it is clear that it is virtually impossible to reface it. I suggest that those telling us what to do with the stone get out of Exeter, come to Okehampton and see it, and then they will see that the stone cannot be refaced.

'This is one very historic grave, but as we know, there are other important graves in the All Saints' churchyard. If we have this much trouble over one, we need to sort a clear policy with the diocese over how to care for our gravestones in future.

'We are being hamstrung by people who can't seem to be bothered to send letters out on time.'

Town mayor Cllr the Rev Mike Davies said: 'This has been going on quite a few years. If we had had a quicker response from the diocese, some of this work would not have been needed, and the stone would not be in the state it is now.'

The town council will keep the item on its parks' committee meeting agenda, in an attempt to get the stone repaired or replaced.

A spokesperson from the Diocese of Exeter said the council was granted permission to repair the gravestone in March 2010 with the provision that the work was carried out by a conservator, but it was not carried out and thus the gravestone continued to deteriorate.

In August 2012, the Diocesean Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches (DAC) advised that the stone be repaired following a report from a conservator.

The DAC is now requesting that the council presents a good case as to why re-facing is no longer possible with photographs and accurate drawings of the proposed replacement.