Fury as flytippers dump piles of unwanted tyres on city graveyard

Feb 10 2011 By Joe McGuire

Sandymount Cemetery

LOW-LIFE flytippers have been slammed for turning a redundant graveyard into a "junkyard".

Vanda ls dumped more than 30 tyres beside a path at Sandymount Cemetery in Springboig.

And Glasgow City Council have appealed to the public for help in finding the culprits.

The burial ground is one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in the country, and members of the faith's Glasgow community are buried there.

It is also the resting ground for more than 100 fallen heroes from the world wars - with 67 graves from World War I, 110 from World War II and one French war grave.

However, vandals have been slammed by local residents for showing little respect for the dead.

As well as the stack of dumped tyres, trash is littered throughout across the grounds.

One resident said: "My friend's father is buried there. The irreverence the people who dumped these tyres has shown beggars belief.

"The police and council really need to catch these people."

A dog walker told us: "I think it's absolutely disgusting.

"This is a cemetery, it's supposed to be a place of eternal rest - not a junkyard."

Stanley Coorsh - chairman of the Sandymount Regeneration Project, which was set up in 2004 to reverse the downward spiral of vandalism and deterioration at the cemetery - said: "We're very disapppointed by this latest dumping.

"People should have more respect for a graveyard."

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: "Upon receiving information on this latest dumping, we acted immediately and dispatched a team to clear the rubbish.

"If anyone has any information about this incident, or other acts of fly tipping of any kind, we encourage them to call Clean Glasgow."

Readers can contact Clean Glasgow on 0800 027 7027. Go to www.glasgow.gov.uk /en/Residents/CleanGlasgow