AN OXFORDSHIRE businessman needed police protection after being confronted by an angry mob at a Bristol cemetery.

Tony Towner, of Crowmarsh Gifford, near Wallingford, had agreed to speak to relatives of people buried in the city's Arno's Vale cemetery,

Mr Towner works for the Bristol General Cemetery Company, which closed the Victorian cemetery and crematorium containing 50,000 graves saying it could not afford to keep it open.

But the move caused fury among hundreds of families who feared they would no longer be able to visit their loved-ones' graves.

Police had to be called to the cemetery earlier this week after scuffles broke out at a 100-strong demonstration when Mr Towner spoke to the crowd.

But speaking at his home, Mr Towner, who has lived in the Wallingford area for ten years, described the episode as "sad".

He accused the demonstrators of "mob rule and violence" and added: "I was assaulted by a family when I stopped a dog urinating on a grave. It's got completely out of hand.

"This is a very complex situation involving a very large number of people."

Bereaved families are now providing their own security at the cemetery, to protect graves from vandals.

But Mr Towner said: "The people at the cemetery now are completely unauthorised and untrained."

The Bristol General Cemetery Company has owned the site since 1837 and built the crematorium in 1928.

Mr Towner says it was forced to close due to environmental regulations which meant the crematorium would have to be improved - which the company could not afford. He added that Bristol City Council compounded the problem by building a new crematorium in the area, despite the fact that Arno's Vale still had plenty of space.

Mr Towner, who said he only worked for the cemetery company as a spokesman and was not its boss, as claimed by protesters, added: "The bulk of people who are against us do not realise that the problem lies with the city council."

But the Church of England has criticised the firm for threatening to lock the cemetery gates.

Spokesman The Rev Tim Datlyn said: "The Church deplores any acts which might cause distress to the bereaved."

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