Specialist cleaners are called into borough monument

Specialists cleaners have come together to give a cemetery a much-needed clean-up after complaints from residents about its poor condition.

Last month, photos showed the wall of Tyldesley Cemetery, in Hough Lane, collapsed while the grass and bushes in the grounds had become increasingly overgrown.

People also raised concerns about the state of the stairs leading to the war memorial which commemorates people who have died in war.

The memorial in the cemetery had become unsightly following the abandonment of Remembrance Sunday parades in 2020 because of Covid-19 restrictions, which meant that it missed out on its annual clean.

The cenotaph, the steps surrounding it and the names of the fallen were due to be professionally cleaned in readiness for Remembrance Sunday commemorations in November.

That work has now been undertaken after Wigan Council arranged for a specialist firm to clean the cemetery, which is once again looking spick and span.

Welcoming the work from the cleaners, Tyldesley councillor Nazia Rehman, said: The cemetery has been cleaned.

“Cemetery gates have also been cleaned and repainted and the surrounding bushes and pathways have been cleaned. Thank you.”

The work comes as a boost as the town readies itself for what it hopes will be a substantial remembrance event this year.

As is the case anywhere, people in Tyldesley hold the remembrance events in high regard and the amount of people attending the parade held each year continues to increase.

And with social distancing rules and the current Covid restrictions due to be scrapped by November, the hope is that this year’s celebrations can be bigger than ever before.

The clean-up at the cemetery comes after it was confirmed that gravestones in nearby Hindley would also be getting a spruce up.

The fenced-off markers, which are situated on land at the side of Bridge Street in Hindley, have increasingly deteriorated over the last few years and have become “unsightly and

overgrown”.

But they will soon get a much-needed facelift thanks to local councillors and residents.

To report an issue in a cemetery, visit the council’s website.

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