 The council has issued a public apology |
More than 700 people whose relatives' gravestones were laid flat without their permission have now been offered compensation, although fewer than 150 have been able to take it. Stoke-on-Trent City Council agreed to the move earlier this year because it accepted it had failed to give notice of its decision to move the memorials.
But the authority has revealed that it has not yet been able to track down many of those eligible for compensation.
Nearly �20,000 has so far been paid out to 149 people, but the council said that the letters it has sent to many potential claimants have been returned because they have moved on without leaving a forwarding address.
The gravestones were laid flat amid safety fears after a child was killed by an unstable memorial.
Some relatives have also won appeals after being told they were not eligible for compensation.
Nearly 4,500 gravestones have so far been inspected in Burslem, Smallthorne, Fenton, Hanley and Tunstall.
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