A daughter has spoken of her fury after gravediggers parked a huge crate of soil on her mum's grave and scattered tributes left for Christmas.

Catherine Fullbrook is still grieving for her mum Kathleen, who died two years ago, and says she was left distraught after her cousin visited the cemetery in St James' Lane, Stone, yesterday and sent her a picture of the site where she's buried.

Only a few days previously, Catherine, 48, from Swanscombe, had been to the grave to decorate it with tributes in time for Christmas, and was doubly upset to see them strewn about nearby.

"I was in such a state, I was so upset," she said. "Basically my cousin came down from Gillingham and wanted to pay his respects and was faced with that. He was really upset.

"They were so distraught and sent me the picture. We had all been up there at different times to put on our Christmas stuff to make it nice for Christmas.

"We've done all that and they've just dug up the grave next to it and and dumped it."

She said there was clearly space along the side of the graves for the soil, and has since spoken to a manager, adding: "I said to the cemetery boss. I was so angry, I said you're telling me you couldn't have moved that a few feet away.

"They said they were going up there to see whether there's anything else they could have done."

Mrs Fullbrook explained her mum was technically her grandmother, but brought her up as a child, and is buried at the same site as her grandad Bill White, who died ten years ago.

"My grandmother and grandad brought me up from six months old so I don't think of her in any other way than my mum," she added. "This is only our second Christmas without her."

And she said the blow had been doubly hard to take coming just a day before Mrs Fullbrook's 48th birthday.

Tributes left recently by family members at the grave included an angel, love hearts with messages, pots with flowers and plants, laminated cards with from the family, a Christmas reindeer, and a frog.

"It was all beautiful," added Mrs Fullbrook. "We've got plants that have been on the grave for ten years. They've just ruined it and left it in such a mess."

Dartford Council have since apologised to the family, and the grave plot has been returned to it's original condition.

A council spokesman said: “It was an unfortunate unusual situation, we were required to reopen an existing grave that was closely surrounded by others and we used a soil hopper that spanned the neighbouring grave but made no contact with it.

"We understand it could be distressing for families visiting during that period but the grave itself is undamaged and we will reinstate the tributes and memorials in a few hours. We have been in contact with the family and they were accepting of our apology.”

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