CAMPAIGNERS have declared a victory after a long battle to tackle parking problems at a Blackburn cemetery.

A new marshalling system has been introduced at large funerals after complaints about ongoing congestion and parking problems at Pleasington Cemetery.

Visitors claim the issue can sometimes be so bad it can take up to half an hour to leave because of a build up of traffic.

Funeral directors said they had faced delayed at the Tower Road cemetery as corteges struggle to navigate long queues and parked cars on busy days.

Services which attract more than 80 cars, including large Muslim funerals, which often involve hundreds of people, are the types of events which would benefit from marshals, Blackburn with Darwen Council has said.

Over the past year the authority has built a new car park, widened the gates to allow two vehicles to pass and created new drop off points for elderly and infirm visitors.

But campaigners said this has failed to solve the issue.

In the latest move the council has trained 24 volunteers to act as marshals, with each gaining an accreditation.

The first wave of marshals have been provided by the Blackburn Muslim Consultative Committee with the council looking for more volunteers to come forward and be trained.

Mari Whalley, 71, who campaigned to get a one-way system installed at the cemetery 25-years-ago, said the problem has been on-going for nearly three decades.

The grandma-of-three, of Alpine Grove, Blackburn, visits her parents’ graves once a week and stepped up her campaign for marshals two-years-ago.

“A friend of mine who was a cancer sufferer felt well enough to go to the cemetery to see her husband’s grave and she was blocked from getting through because of the cars.

“She never got to see her husband’s grave again before she died,” the retired accounts clerk said.

“All of my children live on the Isle of Anglesey and asked me to move there but I tell them ‘I am stopping here’.

“I have that grave to maintain. I need to make sure their resting place is respectable.

“I struggle to get a parking space when there is a busy burial.”

Ibrahim Master, chairman of the Blackburn Muslim Consultative Committee, which is organising the marshals, said mosques have already been providing their own support staff.

He said: “The new marshals are fully trained and should be available for most Muslim burials.

“The parking system has already got better with a volunteer marshalling system, but this is more official.

“They will be in uniform so will have more authority and it will be more organised.”

However Russell Alty, owner of Blackburn-based Alty Funeral, said he feared marshals have little power and may be ignored.

He said corteges were often presented with ‘log jams’ with cars parking on the driveway which obstructs access to and from the cemetery.

“We have had to weave around cars.

“It is not a wide road to begin with and obviously funeral cars need to be quite big,” he said.

“In a cortege you expect instant access.

“You do not wish to be driving round cars or coming to a standstill.

“We have had one or two families who have been quite distressed and angry about what has happened.”

Mr Alty said there are often hundreds of cars at the cemetery, during larger funerals, but the car park is not utilised because it is too far away.

Elaine Loynds, who visits the grave of her husband Bill every week, said on one occasion she struggled to get her car out after being blocked in.

“Another time I could not get out of the cemetery because of the queues. It took me 25 minutes.”

Mrs Loynds, who is on crutches, said: “I think having marshals will really help because it shows there are people supervising it and they will not just be parking where they want to.”

Martin Eden, Blackburn with Darwen’s director of environment and leisure, said: “The Muslim Burial Consultative Committee wanted the Muslim community to respond to the issues of traffic and congestion when large Muslim funerals take place and we were delighted by the response.

“As well encouraging volunteer car park marshals, in the past 12 months the council has built a new car park adjacent to the cemetery gates and widened the gates to allow two vehicles to pass, created new drop off points for elderly and infirm visitors to be dropped off near the grave side and has created a number of disabled car spaces.

“While all this will not eradicate the traffic congestion which occurs when any large funeral of any faith takes place at the cemetery, they will make a significant improvement on the current situation.”

Mr Eden urged anyone interested in volunteering to call 01254 585585.