NORTH Ayrshire Council has received over £20,000 in the last year from people paying to re-erect damaged headstones.

And one resident is claiming that the council are ‘just having a field day to fill a quota’.

Roy Cain, who worked in the building trade for over 45 years, has hit out at the way in which graves are picked and calling the process a ‘licence to print money’.

Roy, who is from Kilbirnie, noticed that his father’s grave had a sticker placed on it for the second time earlier this month and stated that his headstone isn’t dangerous but the council is in fact out to make a quick buck.

He said: “They are just getting a quota. These graves are not dangerous. I would say to anyone who sees them to ignore it, check the grave and then take the sticker off.

“It’s a farce, they are having a field day, when you touch the graves, they don’t move.

“It’s a licence to print money.”

If a headstone fails inspection, it costs over £200 to have it fixed through the council, meaning that over 100 have been repaired in the last year alone.

A spokesperson for North Ayrshire Council, said: “We have an overall responsibility for safety within our burial grounds and have a dedicated memorial inspection team who carry out ongoing inspections and manual tests of all gravestones within our cemeteries and churchyards.

“Should a memorial fail the inspection, it is labelled to advise visitors, staff and contractors of the potential hazard. Additionally, the title holders are notified of the failure.

“Some memorials may be staked and tied if they are considered a significant risk or, as a last resort, they may be laid flat.

“Memorials are the responsibility of the title holder and we can re-erect the memorial if requested to do so, for a fee of £218.

“However, the title holder can also go to any registered stonemason to carry out the works, should they wish.”