Warden and new sign for graves... (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Warden and new sign for graves...

Leanne Wheatley with her daughters Chloe and Mia Ref: 78645-19PEOPLE who watch the Royal International Air Show at Fairford from Highworth cemetery have been asked to behave respectfully.

Town councillors decided they had no power to prevent people from gathering in the cemetery to watch the show but have decided to erect a sign discouraging disrespectful behaviour.

They had been asked to ban the practice by a grieving Liden couple whose visit to their daughter's grave during this year's tattoo was wrecked by noisy children.

Leanne Wheatley, 32, told the Advertiser in July that they visited the cemetery on the second anniversary of their daughter Elouise's death.

They found hoards of people having picnics on the grass and children were throwing balls 'thinking they could use a place of tranquillity and peace as a public park'.

The issue took up almost an hour and a half of discussion at Tuesday's meeting of the town council, but councillors eventually agreed unanimously to put up the sign outside the cemetery and ask Swindon Council to provide a park warden for the time of the air tattoo.

Mrs Wheatley had asked for spectators to be banned from the cemetery.

She said: "The sign on the gate is good and I am more than happy with the idea of the warden, but it depends on whether it actually happens.

"If it doesn't I will have to think of something else because I won't let this go.

"I don't want a repeat of last year's performance.

"The dates for next year's tattoo have been released and again it takes place on the weekend of Elouise's birthday and the anniversary of our losing her.

"So we will be going up to the cemetery that weekend, and I'm concerned about it happening again."

She said: "This isn't a view ground for an air show, it's a cemetery.

"The decent thing would be for the town council to let me know whether the park warden will be there."

Steve Weisinger, Highworth's mayor, said: "There's not a lot we can do as a town council but what we have decided is to put up a permanent sign.

"Because there is a footpath which is a public right of way we can't stop people watching the air show but we can try to make them treat the area with respect."

David Andrew