A mother had to be rescued after she sank into the mud at the grave of her baby son who died at the age of just one month 12 years ago.
Michelle Marshall had gone to visit her son Bailey’s grave at Ballyvester Cemetery in Donaghadee in County Down, Northern Ireland, on New Year’s Eve on what would have been his 12th birthday.
She had tried to leave flowers and balloons on his headstone when she began sinking into a mix of mud and wet sand because of a suspected drainage problem at the cemetery.
Her sister and a passer-by managed to free her, but she said her shoes remained ‘buried with my son.’
Marshall had gone to visit her son’s grave at Ballyvester Cemetery in Donaghadee in County Down, Northern Ireland, on New Year’s Eve when she sank into a mix of mud and wet sand
Ms Marshall’s son Bailey (pictured) was born prematurely on December 31, 2005. He died from an infection 33 days later
‘I am more angry right now than I’ve ever been,’ she wrote on Facebook on New Year’s Eve.
‘It is my son’s 12th birthday today and I went to his grave in Ballyvester cemetery with his flowers and balloons and ended up being buried in it nearly up to my knees.
‘I had to be pulled out by my sister and another man and don’t even have shoes anymore. They are buried with my son!’
She added: ‘You can’t imagine what it feels like to go to your baby son’s grave to be faced with this on his birthday. I am completely broken-hearted.’
Ms Marshall said she has repeatedly complained about the conditions at the cemetery to the council responsible for maintaining it.
She’s even considered exhuming her son’s remains from the graveyard because of the issues, she told BBC News.
She said Ards and North Down Borough Council has promised to install drainage at the cemetery 18 months ago, but recently wrote to her saying it was not needed
Credit: Facebook/Michelle Marshall
But after her post on Facebook, she said staff from Ards and North Down Borough Council have been in touch about the problems.
Ms Marshall’s son Bailey was born prematurely on December 31, 2005. He died from an infection 33 days later.
His remains were buried in Ballyvester Cemetery in 2006 – and Ms Marshall said her family have been unable to access his grave due to flooding a number of times over the years.
She told the BBC the grave has always been a ‘sludgy mess’ due to drainage problems – but it became worse due to the digging of a new grave in the next plot on Boxing Day.
During her latest visit, she took pictures and video of her conditions around her son’s gave and posted them on her social media.
Ms Marshall said her family have been unable to access his grave due to flooding a number of times over the years
On New Year’s Eve, Ms Marshall said her sister and a passer-by managed to free her, but her shoes remained ‘buried with her son’
‘Now that the anger has subsided a bit, I can’t help but feel worried about people being out there,’ she added in a subsequent post.
‘I have hurt my whole hip, knee and back but I had people to help me out of it. Other people may not.’
She said Ards and North Down Borough Council has promised to install drainage at the cemetery 18 months ago, but recently wrote to her saying it was not needed.
Now, in a statement, the council apologised to Ms Marshall and her family for the distress caused.
Officials also met Ms Marshall at the cemetery on Tuesday to discuss a plan of action.
‘The council appreciates how distressing the situation is for Michelle and her family and recognise the need to provide a solution,’ a council spokesman said in a statement.
‘Areas of Ballyvester Cemetery experience ground water problems during periods of high rainfall.
‘After inspection of the cemetery, it is evident, due to recent heavy and sustained rainfall, that there is a significant amount of standing ground water which has impacted accessibility to a small number of graves.
‘The issue of poor ground conditions has been impacted further by the opening and subsequent burial at an adjacent grave plot over the Christmas period.’
The council said temporary ground protection would be installed on Wednesday to allow access to the grave – and work to fit new drains would begin in the spring or summer.
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