THE problem of flooding at a Hartlepool cemetery comes under scrutiny next week.

Hartlepool Borough Council's environmental stewardship and regeneration scrutiny forum will discuss flooding at Stranton cemetery on Tuesday.

Its drainage system is unable to cope after heavy rainfall and the council is trying to find a solution to the problem.

Councillor Sandra Fenwick, forum chairman, said: "I am extremely concerned about the situation. It causes a lot of distress for bereaved people to see the graves they are visiting completely waterlogged, and in some cases people have been unable to visit the graves because of the flooding.

"This is clearly unacceptable and we must do everything we can to try and find a solution.

"At the forum we will be looking at what has been done so far to try to tackle the problem and what options are open to us in the future.

"It is vital for as many people to come along as possible to give their comments and suggestions and help us explore possible solutions.

"We are also very keen to hear from people whose homes back on to the cemetery, as they suffer problems when the cemetery floods."

The meeting will take place at 1pm in Committee Room B of the civic centre.