Wodonga Cemetery Trust will begin its annual clean-up campaign on January 31, aiming to remove items that are potentially dangerous or unsightly from the site on the corner of Melrose Drive and Sangsters Road.

Trust chairperson Neville Seymour said glass vases, bottles or ornaments were particularly concerning.

“What happens is the glass gets broken and falls into the lawn and then when the mower goes over you’ve got fragments of glass coming out like a projectile,” he said.

“If a projectile comes out from under the mower and hits somebody, it could be really catastrophic.”

Solar lights placed on the lawn also created problems when mowing.

The trust wants to make the community aware of its plans so people have time to take action themselves.

MORE NEWS:

“Visitors to the cemetery are requested to remove glass or fragile items from the grave site prior to the clean-up,” Mr Seymour said.

Signs have been erected about the campaign.

“It’s something that needs to happen and we need to do it periodically,” he said.

Trust members understand the feelings attached to the grave sites and intend taking a sensitive approach to the task.

“If there’s still glass items or breakable items there, we will go around and clean them up,” Mr Seymour said.

“If they appear to be an heirloom or a valuable vase or something, we will put it aside.

“We’ll make sure that we know which grave it came off, note the grave, and then when people come and ask us if we’ve got it we’ll be able to give it back to them.”

But the group would prefer visitors to act ahead of time if possible.

“I know there’s some people who are not local, we’ll do it for them and we’ll put away anything we consider to be valuable items and they’ll be able to collect them,” the chairperson said.

“We try and keep the cemetery looking nice and that’s what we want to do.

“We’re also charged with all of the responsibility of making sure that nothing untoward happens.”