The parents of a six-year-old boy who was crushed to death when a 5ft gravestone toppled on him have been paid £33,000 compensation.

Harrogate Borough Council has agreed the out-of-court settlement with the family of Reuben Powell.

Reuben died from severe head injuries in the incident at Grove Road Cemetery, in July 2000.

The youngster often played in the Harrogate cemetery, collecting conkers.

The council has made the payment without admitting liability for the incident.

The sum mainly recognises the trauma suffered by Reuben's mother, Jeanette, 40, who was at the scene and saw her son's injuries when the memorial stone was lifted off him.

She and Reuben's father Richard, also 40, moved away from the Harrogate area after the tragedy and now live in Hertfordshire. They have no other children.

A council spokeswoman said: "Harrogate Borough Council is pleased that an agreement has been reached and that an out-of-court settlement has been made.

"While no amount of legal proceedings will ever be able to turn back the clock, the council sincerely hopes that with the conclusion of legal proceedings, Mr and Mrs Powell will now be able to move gently forward with the rest of their lives."

The tragedy prompted the council to inspect 16,000 gravestones, and 6,000 memorials were laid flat after being found to be unstable.

Hilary Pickup, of solicitors Irwin Mitchell, said the family hoped local authorities had learnt from the tragedy.

Commenting on behalf of the family she said: "Reuben suffered horrific, fatal head injuries. Jeanette arrived on the scene and witnessed the extent of the injuries when the tombstone was lifted off Reuben. She suffered severe post traumatic stress disorder and depression.

"The damages awarded reflect the trauma she suffered but the amount of compensation awarded is of little significance to Mr and Mrs Powell. It is just over three years since Reuben's death.

"The evidence that we obtained demonstrated that the council were aware of the potential dangers of old tombstones in the cemetery prior to this accident but did little to prevent an accident occurring.

"The whole purpose in bringing this case was to highlight the dangers and how straightforward it would have been to stop them happening.

"One thing Richard and Jeanette hope will come out of this is that other local authorities will have sat up, taken notice of the guidance given by the Government and taken action to stop such a tragedy happening again."