MUD dumped on his father’s grave in February was left there for more than two months despite a son’s attempts to get it cleared.

Paul Hodgson’s father was buried at Shenleybury graveyard one and a half years ago and after the grave had settled, he had smoothed it and filled it in. Because of recent weather conditions, the double grave had sunk and Paul had raised it with the top soil with a view to planting it up as he had done previously.

But in February this year, Paul found that mud from a newly-dug neighbouring grave had been thrown on to his father’s grave and despite complaints, no-one seemed prepared to move it.

Last week Phillips Funeral Services cleared the offending mud and restored the grave to its previous condition.

Mr Hodgson, whose mother lives near St Albans, said he had contacted the manager of Phillips who had apologised and assured him that the mud would be cleared.

But while he said the company had accepted it was their responsibility, it had not been done. He said: “I felt they had desecrated the grave.”

Christina Cantwell, whose husband is buried nearby in the churchyard, said that waterlogging had resulted in Mr Hodgson’s grave sinking by nearly a foot and she could understand how angry Paul had been about mud being dumped on it.

She added: “I wish they had cleared it right at the beginning. Now they have put in a border between one grave and the next and it looks really, really nice but that man had a right to be furious.”

A spokesman for Phillips said the problems had arisen over the weather conditions when the grave digging had taken place but remedial work had now been carried out. “We started work about two weeks ago and tidied up two or three graves and then finished last week,” he explained.