CEMETERY maintenance in Glasgow has come under fire as a local councillor said families cannot find headstones as the grass is so long.

Local councillor Martin McElroy said constituents had come to him to complain as their relatives had visited Glasgow to pay their respects at a family grave - and found it overgrown.

Council bosses said graveyards in the city are mown 10 times each growing season - but confirmed this is a drop in number from previous years.

Mr McElroy said: "The last thing a family visiting a grave should be worried about is whether or not they can find a headstone because the grass is so long.

"But this is yet another example of the ongoing austerity that councils in Scotland have been facing.

Read more: Cemetery report just a 'box ticking exercise' say parents of Ciaran Williamson

"There is no complaints from my constituent about the quality, just that there are not enough staff to do the work.

"I don’t blame the staff who maintain the graveyards, I don’t even blame the management.

"The blame lies squarely with the Edinburgh government and its politicians who have just imposed the 12th year of consecutive cuts.

"Is it any wonder there aren’t enough staff to regularly maintain our cemeteries?"

But a council spokesman said the authority is making the best use of the resources it has.

Read more: Glasgow church features in new Outlander map of locations 

A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: “Our staff make every effort within available resources to keep the cemetery in good order.

“The grass within the cemetery is scheduled to be cut ten times each growing season and we are keeping to that schedule.

“The work to maintain the cemetery also includes strimming around the headstones on ten occasions during the growing season.”

Mr McElroy added: "We need to fund councils properly so that local people can get the services they need."