A councillor and Gurkha Justice campaigner says he has been left speechless after a petition was started to remove a Gurkha cemetery sign.

The burial plots in Ashford’s Bybrook Cemetery were opened in July allowing Gurkhas to bury their loved ones together as a community rather than by religion. It is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK.

But a petition signed by 91 people was handed to Ashford Borough Council, asking that the sign be removed.

Folkestone councillor Peter Carroll, part of the Gurkha Justice Campaign since 2003, said: "I'm lost for words, just absolutely lost for words. I can’t see any possible problem with the sign."

Audio: Peter Carroll explains what is on the sign.

Gurkhas, with a motto of "better to die than be a coward", were given the freedom of Folkestone in June cheered on by thousands, including Gurkha Justice Campaign member Joanna Lumley, as they paraded through the town.

The 2nd Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles are based at nearby Sir John Moore Barracks.

Gomba Sherpa, chairman of the Sagarmatha Gurkha Community, said: "The Gurkhas have been in service for this country for 100 years and they have a right to settle down here.

"Our culture and background means we put all our dead bodies in the same place, that’s why we requested the cemetery section alongside the other area and it doesn’t harm anyone else putting the sign there."

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