WORKERS at Tavistock's cemeteries are praying for summer weather to stay to allow them to stem the problem of overgrown grass.
A report by Tavistock's new cemetery superintendent Brian Brown states that due to the recent cycle of long rainy periods followed by sun then rain again, the grass has been growing rapidly and has become 'impossible to maintain in normal working hours'.
Grass is now so overgrown in some areas people are having difficulty visiting graves.
Town clerk Roger Howard said: 'We can't do anything until the ground dries up; we have a huge amount of grass to cut.'
He said grass-cutting machinery was bogging in, and the changeable nature of weather from rain to sunshine, meant grass was growing, but was too saturated to be cut.
Grass cutting for both cemeteries is labour-intensive, so overtime for grass cutting was authorised earlier last month. However, several important pieces of work have been delayed because of grass cutting and these also need to be caught up on in overtime.
There were only a handful of funerals in May, but a spate of funerals could cause work to be backed-up even further.
In the past, casual labour was hired to help with grass cutting in the spring and summer months, and Tavistock town councillors considered doing so again when they discussed the cemetery superintendent's report at a recent meeting of the properties committee.
But Mr Brown said there were problems with taking on casual labour. 'You have to make sure they are properly trained and have the proper equipment. So it is an extra expense for the council on a short-term basis,' he said.
'If the weather stays fine, hopefully we can catch up, but grass cutting will have to come second to any funerals. We have just had four good days, but unfortunately it was over a bank holiday weekend.'
Cllr Ted Sherrell said: 'The general state of the grass is far too long. A cemetery is one of the most important things in any town. I know if you see a cemetery is not well maintained you form a poor opinion of the town.'
He said the council should use overtime work or employ casual labour if that was the quickest way to get the grass under control.
Cllr Robin Pike said the Dolvin Road cemetery attracted a number of visitors; families of those buried there as well as researching historians, and as such it was important it should be well-maintained.
Councillors will see if the weather allows the grass to be cut, before discussing the issue further.
The meeting also heard that the backlog of other works projects in the town was growing. Problems of vandalism were taking up too much of council workers' time, said works superintendent Les Bennett. 'Most Mondays, two members of staff are doing repair work because of vandalism over the weekend. One day a week is usually gone for repairs and it's soul destroying for the staff as well as the general public.'
Long-term absence of works staff due to illness also contributed to more than 30 outstanding priority tasks.