Durham Council says it has not been contacted by the church about the recommendations of a report published six months ago into a distressing blunder which saw a family visit the wrong grave for 17 years.

Last July the Echo exposed how the Bell family discovered they had been visiting the wrong grave after the death of mum Hilda, whose last wishes were to be buried alongside her doting husband Thomas.

Thomas and Hilda’s family endured a painful six-week wait to bury their mum while gravediggers dug up 11 plots and uncovered several errors at Holy Trinity Church, Wingate in finding their father’s resting place.

Read more: EXCLUSIVE | Family who visited dad at wrong grave for 17 YEARS get gravestone in right place

A report into the blunder published in December described a ‘perfect storm’ of errors which led to the mistake happening.

It also recommended “a request be made to Durham County Council for an immediate course of work” to “overhaul” the graveyard and bring it to a “manageable state”.

However, almost 12 months on from the blunder and six months after the report was published, Durham County Council says it has not been contacted regarding the recommendations.

Ian Hoult, Durham County Council’s neighbourhood protection manager, told the Echo: “The grounds of Holy Trinity Church are maintained on a two-week cycle in line with our county-wide open space grass cutting programme.

“While we were not contacted about the recommendations within the report, we are happy to work with the Diocese regarding this.”

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While work has taken place since last year, many parts of the graveyard remain overgrown, with some headstones hidden by foliage.

The Northern Echo: Some gravestones remain completely obscured by the foliage.Some gravestones remain completely obscured by the foliage. (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

But the Diocese of Durham says the Wingate Parochial Church Council has liaised with a local councillor, and “regular graveyard maintenance” is ongoing.

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Durham said: “To improve the appearance of the graveyard for visitors, Wingate Parochial Church Council has been working with Cllr John Higgins, who has arranged for Durham County Council to increase regular graveyard maintenance to keep the graveyard in a manageable state.

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“In addition, Holy Trinity Church has established a team of volunteers who have raised funds for new plants and shrubs.”

It added that training has been introduced to improve record-keeping procedures, which were also highlighted as a potential cause of the blunder which saw the Bells visit the wrong grave.

The Diocese added: “Following the publication of the report into Wingate churchyard, the Diocese of Durham held a training event on processes and procedures concerning record keeping and churchyard management. This event was over-subscribed and will therefore be repeated.”