THE state of a new pathway in the grounds of All Saints churchyard in Okehampton is making it difficult for burials to be conducted with 'dignity and decorum', says a funeral director in the town.
Loose gravel and an uneven surface were two issues raised in a letter to the town council after funeral director of Co-operative Funeral and Monumental Services Barry Pyke conducted his first funeral at the new burial site.
Mr Pyke said: 'The footpath is dreadful, the loose gravel is not a good surface for wheeling a bier, especially when the path is as steep as it is.'
Mr Pyke said the narrow footpath tilted to the right, making it difficult when wheeling the bier (trolley used for the coffin) to the grave plot: 'Because of the slope, it means the bier is being pulled off the path.
'When you have two men either side of the coffin on a narrow path, it makes it impossible not to step onto the grass.'
He said the burial plots should have started from the bottom of the site to make it possible for the coffin to be walked over the grave in the correct way, feet first: 'At the moment we have to do a shuffle movement and then approach the grave from the foot end.'
Mr Pyke said the path should be corrected by moving to the bottom of the ground and working upwards. 'What the path needs is levelling out and made a decent walkway for when a burial is taking place.
'It is very difficult to look dignified when walking with a coffin along a path that is not levelled out correctly.
'Dignity and respect are key words to our business.'
Derek Stevens, who acts as a bearer for funeral directors in Okehampton, said the new path should be a minimum of two metres wide to allow for four bearers to walk two by two, and he said gravel on the path was not practical: 'The stone will never dry out thoroughly and bed down because it is too wet on that site. It is not practical for bearers wheeling the coffin or family and friends who attend the funeral.
'The council should have come to us and asked what was needed.
'When you are walking behind a coffin of a deceased loved one, you wish the process to be carried out with dignity and decorum.
'The council needs to go back to the drawing board and realise it is a very important facility, used by people in a very stressful period in their lives.'
In response the town council said the loose gravel on the footpath would eventually harden to give a better working surface. It said the option of installing tarmac was not taken up as it would cost approximately £7,000.
The council said the tilt to the right which pulled the bier off course would be investigated by the park keeper with a view to creating an even surface.
Town mayor Kay Bickley said: 'I can understand that for funeral directors who have to push the trolley, it must be difficult and I think the points made are entirely reasonable.'
Cllr Bickley said the council had been in contact with the church: 'We have spoken with the church in huge detail and have been in constant contact with them throughout.'