Calls for respect at village memorial
DISRESPECTFUL dog owners and thoughtless parents have been criticised for spoiling Hilgay's war memorial.
The voluntary caretaker of the war memorial, Rex Everitt, said dog’s urine was killing patches of grass and some owners were allowing their pets to foul the area.
The memorial is also close to the village school and parents parking nearby were forcing lorries and tractors to mount the kerb and damage the grass to get past.
Mr Everitt (69), of Manor Road, took over caring for the memorial in Church Road last summer. Weeds and grass were growing eight or nine inches high and he said: “I couldn’t bear to see it like that, knowing what it stands for.”
After he tidied up the area, many villagers commented on how lovely it looked.
The parking and fouling problems then became apparent and he said: “It’s disheartening.”
Mr Everitt criticised the “lazy” dog owners concerned. “I suppose some people nowadays don’t realise what the memorial stands for. They are showing no respect for it,” he said.
Another problem had arisen due to parents parking next to the memorial while taking children to and from the nearby school.
Mr Everitt said large vehicles coming into the village from the south and turning off High Street into Church Road could not get past the parked cars or safely reverse back into the main road.
As a result, they had to mount the kerb of the war memorial, causing damage to the grass.
“One of the deepest grooves is about a metre on to the grass,” he said.
He appealed to parents to help the situation by parking a little further along the road.
The headteacher of the school, Mr James McBernie, pointed out that parents were only in the area for only a short while and said he had asked them through the school newsletter not to park where space was tight. “They have co-operated on the whole,” he said.
The school had almost completed a travel plan, including looking at parking in the area. Where possible, pupils would be encouraged to walk or cycle to school. “Hopefully that will reduce the number of cars around the school,” he said.
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Weather for King's Lynn
Thursday 09 February 2012
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