IN May there was criticism of those in charge of Whalley and Wiswell Burial Ground after they banned mourners from laying artificial flowers on graves.

Since then the committee has undertaken months of debate on policy.

And it shows.

They have produced an exhaustive four-page document containing detailed rules and regulations.

The good news is that artificial flowers are now permitted again. However in keeping with the, at times, fussy level of detail, the rules state that ‘faded or inappropriate artificial flowers may be removed at the discretion of the registrar’.

It goes on to order that ornaments, flowers, potted plants and shrubs be no higher than 300mm.

Only one plastic spiked flower holder is allowed, and this must be in the grass but ‘not at the front or back’.

The councillors allows themselves a large amount of leeway in ordering that ‘the committee reserves the right to remove flowers, bushes, shrubs or trees planted in the ground without warning’.

Some rules are clearly done over ‘health and safety’, such as banning glass and spiked solar lights.

But many seem to revel in petty, over-the-top bureaucracy.

At a time of grief, four pages of rules will be hard to take in. As a result mourners are likely to inadvertently break a rule or two.

Hopefully, if that is the case, the committee will take a lenient view.