Alcohol banned at cemetery amid concerns about crime

YOUTHS drunk on booze they had taken from graves at Woodlands Cemetery started flinging mud among the headstones.
The incident, which happened a few months ago, was one of several which has forced Solihull Council to ban alcohol from the site.
It is reported that the cans and bottles left by mourners are fuelling anti-social behaviour, with thefts and threats of violence also occurring.
As of today (April 1), visitors will be forbidden from bringing in, drinking or leaving alcohol at the facility. The tough new policy was agreed earlier this year.
Coun Alison Rolf, cabinet member for stronger communities and partnerships, said it was important that people felt comfortable.
“We want to make sure our cemeteries are a peaceful place for visitors when they come to pay their respects to their loved ones,” she said.
“While many people are respectful when they visit, there have been times when others have behaved inappropriately.
“This has been caused through drinking alcohol which they have obtained from it being left on graves.”
Problems at Woodlands, which lies between Chelmsley Wood and Coleshill, have prompted Warwickshire Police to start plain-clothes patrols in the vicinity.
In addition, cemetery staff across Solihull have all been issued with personal alarms – in the event of any trouble.
Julie Williams, from the council’s bereavement services team, said it was important there was a “dignified” atmosphere at the place of rest.
She had told councillors about the problems over the Christmas period with youths entering the cemetery and causing trouble.
“People leave cans, bottles of Jack Daniels and things like that on the graves,” she said.
“They’d been drinking them and then they started throwing stones at headstones, having a mud fight from grave mounds.”
On another occasion, an out-of-work adult had got very drunk on alcohol that had been left at the site.
Challenged by his wife about spending money, he confessed he’d “been to Woodlands Cemetery”.
The alcohol ban will also apply at the borough’s two other council-owned cemeteries – Robin Hood, in Shirley, and Widney Manor, at Bentley Heath.