I VISITED Darlington on June 19 and 20 to find the graves of my ancestors as I am researching my family history. I knew where to look as I had copies of monumental inscriptions .The second graveyard I visited was Holy Trinity, Woodland Road, where I had two family graves to find.

Well, imagine the shock I had when I got there. I was disgusted at the rubbish, overgrown trees and bushes, and vandalised graves daubed with paint in all colours of the rainbow.

There was one area where there were broken gravestones in a circle being used as seats with one in the middle as a table.

I did find one of my family graves, but not the one I was especially interested in, which contained the bodies of my great-grandmother’s three siblings who had died very young.

I had travelled a long way to visit these graves and others in the Darlington and North Yorkshire area. Does no one care about these graveyards? Please Darlington, do something.

Some of your ancestors could be buried in that church graveyard.

Mrs Judith Howell, Broughton, Chester.