A COUNCIL which laid down thousands of cemetery headstones after a child was killed in a tragic accident has escaped condemnation from the Local Government Ombudsman.

Relatives were upset when headstones were moved by Harrogate Borough Council, claiming they had not been properly notified, or that the stones' safety had not been properly tested.

The council's actions were taken after six-year-old Reuben Powell was killed when a five-foot headstone collapsed on top of him at the town's Grove Road Cemetery as he played with friends in July 2000.

Following the accident, the council was ordered by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to carry out a full inspection of the district's 18,000 memorials within two years.

Out of the 18,015 memorials tested, 6,443 have been categorised as dangerous and laid down - 36 per cent.

The tests involved a visual and physical inspection of each headstone, involving a fingertip test to see if the stone was loose and the application of firm, steady pressure with one hand to check for instability.

Six complaints were made to the Ombudsman by relatives upset at what had happened to loved-ones headstones and at the way stones' safety was tested.

One complainant alleged seeing an officer using two hands to test a memorial - despite the recommended tests only requiring one hand.

But Ombudsman Patricia Thomas has now found that the council was not guilty of maladministration.

In a report, she said: "I appreciate that a great number of memorials were judged to pose an immediate danger on the basis of this test and that complainants feel that many of these were never in imminent danger of collapse and should have been classified as potentially dangerous only.

"However, I cannot conclude that the council's testing was obviously flawed."

Patrick Kilburn, the council's head of parks and open spaces said: "This work has been a highly sensitive and emotive issue for grave owners and we appreciate that, particularly following the death of a young child.

"What many people haven't realised is that it has had a great effect on our own staff. They have had to work to very tight deadlines initiated by the HSE in very difficult circumstances and with a constant barrage of unwarranted criticism.

"I think people have now started to realise the scale of the work involved."

The council will give a grant of up to £45 to families towards putting the memorials back up again if they have been laid down.

Updated: 08:52 Thursday, June 26, 2003