Scholemoor Cemetery fire 'unacceptable and disrespectful'

A man, who did not want to be named, was walking through Scholemoor Cemetery on Necropolis Road this morning (June 20) when he noticed a patch of grass near some graves which had been set alight. Beer cans can be seen among the charred debris. 

He described the act as "disturbing" and "disrespectful" as graveyards are sacred spaces.

Ground burned by vandals at Scholemoor Cemetery. Image: UGC (Image: UGC)

The incident was raised with Bradford Council today and a spokesperson said the area will be restored as soon as possible. 

The Council said it will ask the Neighbourhood Policing Team to keep an eye on the area. 

Pictures submitted to the Telegraph & Argus show a large patch of grass, near graves, which is heavily burnt and covered in beer cans. 

The man who discovered the damage said: “If you look closely, you can see they’ve piled stones up in the fire and then they’ve burnt beer cans and wood.

“It’s very disturbing and disrespectful.

“I walk through here quite frequently and I’ve only just come across it, so it must have happened recently.

“It’s disgusting that this has been done in such a respectful place and near a grave.”

Scholemoor Cemetery has been hit with vandalism in recent weeks. Just last month, a shocking haul of car parts was dumped at the site before being set on fire.

They were left just yards from gravestones at the cemetery site and spread over a large area of its pathway. 

Speaking about the latest incident, a Bradford Council spokesperson told the Telegraph & Argus: “It looks like people have taken advantage of a warm summer evening to light a fire and sit in the cemetery.

“Obviously, this is totally unacceptable and disrespectful to the cemetery."

They added: “We will ask the Neighbourhood Policing Team to keep an eye on this area and ask anyone doing this kind of thing to stop.

“We will also restore this area to how it was before the fire as soon as possible.”