Letter: Tragic baby group had no choice but to suspend its operations

The local Sands group, who are both volunteers and bereaved parents themselves, have apologised for not communicating with parents adequately.

The group felt that they had no choice but to take action following complaints from parents about the number of items left on graves and how this looked, comments from maintenance staff at the cemetery and because broken glass from some items had caused injuries.

Each grave has at least 18 babies; this means a lot of items on the graves and some babies' names have been obscured, which is extremely difficult for those parents. We would further like to make clear that no items will be removed from the cemetery itself.

Shropshire Sands is made up of a group of volunteer bereaved parents who give their time for free to support others who have experienced this most devastating of tragedies: the death of a baby.

They have additionally been looking after the area of Longden cemetery. Due to the level of hostility and verbal abuse they have experienced, they feel they have no option but to suspend their activities for the time being while we work towards a resolution. Sands will continue to support bereaved parents, through our helpline, 020 7436 5881, or by e-mailing helpline@uk-sands.org or the online forum www.forum.sandsforum.org

We hope the group will be able to resume its vital work supporting bereaved parents in Shropshire in the new year. However, they have decided that following the completion of the latest grave, they will no longer undertake any work at the cemetery and queries about the regulations concerning what can be left on the graves should be directed to Shropshire Council who have overall responsibility for the policy. Bereaved parents who have been affected by the situation are urged to contact our helpline if they are feeling worried or upset.

Judith Abela, Head of Operations, Sands