CAMPAIGNERS claim the tragic death of a youngster who died after being struck by a gravestone was an accident waiting to happen.

 

Eight-year-old Ciaran Williamson died on Tuesday night after he was struck on the head by a gravestone which crashed over.

Seconds earlier, he and four friends - two aged 10, one aged nine and a seven-year-old - had entered Craigton Cemetery through a large gap in the wall.

One of them, 10-year-old Thomas McManus, said they dived out of the way of the toppling, 6ft stone but it was "too late" to save Ciaran.

Former Mosspark community council chairman David Cameron said he had been urging the local authority to secure the graveyard and flatten the gravestones during his 17-years as chief.

Mr Cameron, who said: "It should never have happened but, and it's a horrible thing to say, it was going to happen.

"We're talking about children's lives here but it was an accident that was going to happen.

"That cemetery is hundreds of years old, so are the stones.

"It's time now we started locking these cemeteries and protecting them. It's time to protect the children now.

"The gravestones in there are absolutely massive, they weigh about a tonne.

"If one of them goes over, the foundations are not strong - it's 100-year-old cement - and they just topple.

"I wanted the stones flattened, and lain across the graves, that way they can't fall over.

"It has to happen in Craigton, it's far too dangerous - if we flatten these it can save lives."

The young boys accessed the graveyard through a large hole in the wall near Mosspark Heights Avenue.

Locals are also understood to have been complaining about the hole and asking for it to be repaired for some time.

A young mum with four kids who lives at the Mosspark tower block said: "The hole has been there for about two years and it should have been fixed by now.

"I won't let my kids go in there but you always see kids playing in there."

Paul McArthur runs a gardening club for children living in the flats. He said Ciaran had come along once or twice with his brother.

He added: "I'm always telling kids to keep away from the cemetery."

However the site is accessible 24 hours to pedestrians as the gates remain unlocked.

Mr Cameron claims he met with former Land and Environmental Services boss David Booth to discuss safety concerns at the graveyard in 2012 and was told there was no money to work on the site.

Mr Cameron added: "It's their responsibility but they say they can't afford it.

"They need to sit up and take action.

"I spent a lot of time trying to get the gates locked. If there is a hole in the wall the council should fix that too, they are responsible for the property and the buck stops with them.

"Kids are kids, if there is something there they will climb on it, jump on it. Just now that place is just a toilet for dogs and a den for drug addicts."

Alistair Watson, Labour councillor for the Craigton ward and executive member for land and environmental services said: “The council needs to assess whether there are any dangerous headstones in the cemetery.
“The council will indeed respond to any real concerns, As the local member I’m absolutely broken-hearted for anybody who has to endure this dreadful pain.”

hannah.rodger@eveningtimes.co.uk