Horsham woman left 'shocked and upset' after parents' grave is flooded

Ann Fiorentini said: “It was heartbreaking and really upset me a lot.”

She said the grave – at Hills Cemetery in Horsham – was one of several that were flooded.

“I had heard there had been some flooding and was, obviously, aware that we have had lots of rain recently but I was totally shocked to find the grave under around three inches of water and the path by it totally flooded,” she said, adding: “There were lots of other graves in the same sorry state.”

Ann, 77, said her father had passed away during lockdown aged 100 and her mother had died 10 years before him at the age of 91.

“Despite their deaths from old age it was still upsetting to see this,” she said.

A number of people complained earlier this year after the cemetery was left in a poor state with grass cuttings strewn over graves and some headstones damaged by mowers.

A spokesperson for Horsham District Council, which owns the cemetery, said: "We are extremely sorry for any distress caused by the recent flooding in areas of Hills Cemetery.

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"We were aware of the flooding that happened after the significant rainfall of the past two weeks. The sheer volume of rain meant that the ground became completely waterlogged, and was unable to drain as the wet weather continued.

"There is an existing storm-water pond to ease the situation at the cemetery, but it became completely full due to the extreme conditions.

"As an immediate response, work starts this week on creating an additional storm water pond, which should hold five times more water to minimise the chances of the flash flooding occurring again.

"Further work is planned for next summer to extend the roadway in the cemetery and this will be built with additional drainage linking to the storm water ponds.”