Council reverses decision to remove items from baby's grave

A grieving mother who was asked to remove memorial items from her baby daughter's grave has now been told they can stay after talks with council officials.

Caitlyn Gibson's daughter Belle was 12 weeks old when she died in October after suffering from a hypoxic brain injury.

She was buried in Dalry cemetery in Ayrshire and her family placed plastic flowers, toys, framed photographs and colourful lights around her grave.

North Ayrshire Council sent a letter last week saying the tributes had to be removed but after Caitlyn spoke out on social media it reversed its decision.

The original letter from the council, which arrived last week, 10 months after Belle's funeral, said Caitlyn needed to remove the kerbing, gravel, plants and memorial items from her daughter's grave.

It said she would need to remove all of the items by 13 July or the council would do it themselves.

Caitlyn told the BBC: "The thought all through my head was like I was losing Belle all over again.

"Her grave is what we believe should be like a representation of her.

"It was putting us back into that situation where we had no control and somebody was going to take something away from our daughter's grave.

"Belle's grave is my coping mechanism, it's what I have to do to cope."

Caitlyn said she thought an issue as serious as this would have been dealt with in a telephone call or an in-person meeting rather than via a letter.

She said she had tried to contact the council about the situation but found it difficult to actually speak to a person directly.

When she did speak to someone they said they would pass her details on.

"That night when I posted on social media I was scrambling and frantic," Caitlyn said.

"I couldn't understand what they were doing and why they were doing it to us.

"I didn't want to reach out on social media, because yes it did help and people were really supportive but there was also a lot of horrible comments."

Caitlyn said people had left comments saying Belle's grave was "tacky".

She said she could not understand how a child having a bright grave could be disrespectful to anyone else.

Not long after she had spoke out on social media the council contacted her directly about the situation.

She then met an official at the cemetery where Belle is buried and discussed a solution.

Caitlyn said she was assured she would not need to remove the tributes permanently, and would only need to temporarily remove them if someone were to be buried next to Belle.

They said she would be warned in advance about this.

"I'm happy and I'm grateful that we get to keep our grave because I couldn't bear the thought of removing it," she said.

A spokesperson for North Ayrshire Council said: "There was an amicable meeting last week and we informed the family we would not remove the items from Belle's grave.

"The family agreed to maintain the grave and to ensure no items encroached onto other plots.

"We informed them we would call them when we need to use the lair next to theirs as their memorial would need to be moved."