HUNDREDS of people are backing a Drumchapel mum’s petition to block West Dunbartonshire Council from removing personal items from the grave of her twin babies.

Julie McCorquodale, 41, was shocked to discover a note left for her in Dalnottar Cemetery asking for her to take away stones, chips and edging within weeks.

Council officials had tried to contact the family for some time but did not have her current address and said they had no choice but to leave a note about the long-established rules for the cemetery.

But the petition condemned the condition of the cemetery and blamed council workers for letting the area decline, which their items were designed to cover up.

Ms McCorquodale and husband Scott’s children Scott and Abbie were 15 weeks premature and died within a week of being born, in 2005. 

The couple found the note last Saturday requiring removal of the items within 28 days. And their petition warns the council that it, in turn, has 28 days to fix subsidence of graves.

It states: “This is an atrocious act by WDC – the cemetery is a special place for grieving friends and family and you can see how much time we have taken to make sure our lairs are kept nice.”

She told the Post this week: “We moved address six years ago and never notified WDC, in error, so we never got the letters that WDC issued and came across the notice on Saturday. We have had our stones in place for seven years and have never been asked by WDC to remove them.

“Why, after all these years, are they now enforcing the ‘rules’?”

Ms McCorquodale added: “I’ve been overwhelmed by messages of support. Some stories people have shared with me are heartbreaking. It’s important for me to get the message out that West Dunbartonshire Council is issuing these notices. I don’t want anyone else to visit the grave of their loved ones and find a message like that nailed to their plot.”

The council issued a public reminder last year that the rules have always prevented decorations, particularly walls and fences. It estimated about 500 lairs were affected at cemeteries, including Alexandria, Dumbarton and North Dalnottar.

The council argued the walls and railings interfere with grass cutting and are tripping hazards, in one case putting a cemetery worker in hospital. The authority reminded all lair owners by letter in 2014, but many never notify the council of address changes.

Council bosses are now hoping to work to a solution with Ms McCorquodale. In a statement, a spokeswoman said: “We are very sensitive to Ms McCorquodale’s concerns as we take the steps needed to properly maintain the graves at Dalnottar cemetery. The wooden edging and stone chips at the lair mean groundsmen have to use strimmers to cut the surrounding grass.

“Strimmers are messy and throw grass cuttings over this and neighbouring graves, which is undignified. The adaptations to Ms McCorquodale’s lair are outwith the cemetery rules and so we have asked that they be removed and given time for this to be done.”

More than 1,800 people have signed the petition so far.