Stockport council has apologised "unreservedly"

An independent inquiry has criticised the council for not informing relatives that any of the 3,000 graves had been flattened.

It is now expected that it will cost about �200 to re-erect each grave safely.

Council leader Mark Hunter has apologised unreservedly for the distress caused to bereaved families.

The row began in March this year after families arrived at cemeteries to find their loved ones' headstones lying on the ground.

We would like to repeat our unreserved apology to all those affected by our action. Stockport Council leader, Mark Hunter

Families thought they had been vandalised, but were upset when told they had been officially flattened by the council.

The council said it was responding to Health and Safety Executive concerns, raised with all local authorities in England after fatal accidents involving memorial stones falling on youngsters at cemeteries elsewhere in the country.

Many of the gravestones were flattened as Stockport council workers pushed them to test their stability, the council admits, but bereaved families were not given any explanation.

Mr Hunter, said on Wednesday: "We would like to express, on behalf of the whole council, our great regret at the distress caused to local people.

"We would like to repeat our unreserved apology to all those affected by our action."

The council is "not alone" in carrying out work of this kind in its cemeteries, he said.

"We hope other councils can learn from our experience and ensure other members of the public are not subjected to the kind of distress people in Stockport have experienced," added Mr Hunter.