A RESIDENT has slammed a parish council for not doing enough about a flooding problem at her local cemetery.

Betty Rogers, 75, from Kidlington, has had to wear wellies these past few months while visiting Kidlington Cemetery where her late husband rests.

After heavy rainfall in the area, the site on Bicester Road has become 'boggy' and a challenge for residents to access graves.

Ms Rogers is pushing for Kidlington Parish Council to take action in reducing the amount of flooding at the burial ground.

She said: "Why haven't they done anything? It's very dangerous for elderly people as it's slimy and boggy. I did manage to meet with the council, but nothing has happened since and I'm not getting what I was promised.

ALSO READ: Oxford flooding video shows INLAND SEA created by Storm Dennis

"Although they've planted trees, there's a ditch and water runs down into it.

Oxford Mail:

"There's no flood defence. You have to wear wellies - it's dreadful. We're paddling in a bog. If proper drainage was put in, there wouldn't be a problem. I just think the council was looking for cheap burial ground."

Kidlington Parish Council says areas in the cemetery are not flooded but are waterlogged.

It employed drainage experts in 2015 and 2018 to help it find solutions which resulted in three land drains being installed in the burial ground to disperse the water from the wettest areas.

It also cleared a ditch along the northern boundary with a view to installing some additional drainage channels and considering other measures such as additional tree planting, ground spiking, blind ditches and French drains.

Mrs Rogers has set up a Facebook page where she keeps a log of the cemetery conditions.

She posted that she returned home upset after visiting the site on February 16.

ALSO READ: Firefighters have no legal duty to help after Storm Ciara and Dennis

She said: "I have just come from the cemetery in tears, I have never seen anything like it.

"Let that lot at the parish council say it’s the same everywhere, it is down to doing a cheap job at the beginning, the great puddle in the entrance shows how much care was taken.

"They had no respect for the people buried there and they have no respect for their friends and relatives now.

"They are a total waste of space, they like the title and praise when it comes to opening refurbished playgrounds and attending events that make them look good. But care nothing about important and difficult issues."

Oxford Mail:

Kidlington Parish Council said in a statement: "As you can imagine, the extremely wet weather in recent months has caused some problems in many areas and the ground at Bicester Road cemetery has become very waterlogged in places, although certainly not flooded.

ALSO READ: Floods near planned Wheatley power station site

"Drainage on this site, as in many areas of Kidlington, is challenging as the ground below the topsoil is Oxford Clay which drains very slowly.

"It is very important to the Council, and our residents, that the cemetery is well maintained and cared for providing an appropriate setting for bereaved families. We are very sympathetic to the concerns of our residents."