AN unholy row erupted in a churchyard in Mid Devon last week.

At Lapford Parish Church more than 10 local residents had a stand-off argument with representatives from the Parochial Church Council and a representative from HOLD, the Heart of Lapford Development.

The local residents were upset and angry that earth had been scraped from the top of graves in the North East corner of the churchyard with a mechanical digger.

Some of the residents had seen the work taking place and word soon spread that the earth had been removed, they said without consulting relatives first.

Details were published on social media sites and this led to the confrontation between the church representatives and local residents.

The discussions became very heated and some local residents became very upset over the situation.

One local resident said: “The village is in uproar over this.

“I have family in this churchyard, how would you feel if it was your son’s grave. It is disrespectful.”

Another resident said that a lovely hedge had been cut down while birds were nesting there, adding that the hedge against a nearby car park belonging to Devon County Council, had also been cut down.

He added that he could not believe that the church also wanted to cut down some of the Yew trees in the churchyard.

He told the representatives: “This is damage of a criminal nature. This has been reported to the planning authorities, the Diocese of Exeter office and the Bishop of Crediton.”

He added that he was very angry about the whole situation.

Donna Rookes Egan said that there had been a lack of consultation about the work.

Others called for the Parochial Church Council to resign.

Churchwarden Joan Graham told the protestors that the work carried out was to remove soil, rubble and debris to tidy up the area of the churchyard.

She said that the PCC had taken advantage of the fact that HOLD had workers working on the site adjoining the churchyard to help clear the debris.

She added that no gravestones had been damaged and that the area would be grass seeded to return it to a better state than what it had been.

She said: “It was my responsibility. We couldn’t mow the grass in the churchyard in that area because it was so overgrown with weeds and was full of stones and rubbish.

“This will soon be grass seeded and the area will be better than it was before.

“The hedge bank was not looked after and the works will be a great improvement for this area.

“This improvement work will mean it will be easier to maintain.

“It is the PCC’s responsibility to look after the churchyard and when we have appealed for people to help clean up the churchyard only PCC members have helped, we have got very little help from the community.

“The church working party has been working on looking after the churchyard for years.”

She explained that the works were done “with the best intentions”.

HOLD, the Heart of Lapford Development, issued a statement this week, which states: “For absolute clarity - all the recent maintenance works at the north east corner of the churchyard have been carried out at the request of the PCC of St Thomas of Canterbury, and not initiated nor managed by HOLD.

“The PCC requested HOLD contractors working on the LTP site to assist the PCC by cleaning away rubbish, rubble and vegetation from the untended areas of the churchyard along the shared boundary, which work was done free-of-charge.

“Any concerns or questions about these or other maintenance works within the churchyard boundary should be directed to the Archdeacon of Exeter.”

HOLD acquired a piece of land adjoining the churchyard and behind the Victory Hall, which contained old collapsing farm buildings, rubbish, rubble and overgrown vegetation. HOLD has been clearing the site and hopes to use it for community use in the village, in the future, possibly for a community building or similar in the future if funding and approval permits.

It is understood that the local parish magazine, “Lapford Lookout”, which was previously a good conduit for information in the parish has not been produced for several months, since the pandemic.

It agreed by both the local residents and the PCC at the confrontation in the churchyard that had the magazine been operating, then notice and consultation about the works might have prevented the confrontations and arguments about the churchyard works from happening.

• Do you have an opinion about the works which resulted in the earth from the tops of graves being scrapped off in Lapford churchyard?

Why not share you comments with fellow Courier reader? Email: [email protected] .

Alternatively, write to: The Editorial Manager, Crediton Courier, 102 High Street, Crediton EX 17 3LF.

Please include your name, address and a contact telephone number, and please state if it is not for publication.