The council has issued a public apology

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has agreed to the move, suggested after an independent review into the issue.

A row broke out after the authority laid down hundreds of headstones amid safety fears without first speaking to families.

The council's Unsafe Memorials programme was set up after a child was killed by an unstable gravestone.

The review has recommended the city council pay for the memorials to be put up again in those instances where relatives were not consulted.

It was also suggested that families should be given a chance to secure unstable memorials before the council steps in, except in extreme cases.