Badgers are causing havoc in an ancient churchyard by digging up the remains of people buried there for several hundred years.
At least four graves have been disturbed so far in Long Clawson
And locals have been warned they can do nothing about it because the animals are a protected species.
At least four graves have been disturbed so far; in one instance a child found a leg bone and took it home to his parents. It is illegal to kill badgers or destroy a sett, and attempts by the local parish council to have the badgers moved have been blocked by Natural England.
Instead, Rev Simon Shouler has been forced to carry out regular patrols to pick up stray bones, store them and re-inter them all in a new grave.
Rev Shouler first noticed the problem at St Remigius Church in the village of Long Clawson, Leics, which dates back to the 12th Century, earlier this year when someone reported seeing a skull and a bone on top of the ground.
The churchyard took burials for 800 years before closing in the early 1900s because it was full.
Since the first discovery a child has discovered a leg bone and two other leg bones have now been dug up.
Rev Shouler said: “The parish council began seeking advice and someone from the local county badger group came around and told us about special gates that allow the badgers out but does not allow them back in.
“The idea was that they would be relocated to a nearby field.
“However, Natural England and English Heritage got involved and ruled that there might have been a medieval house on the adjacent field once, and so the land is protected.
“We cannot go near the sett, and English Nature will not grant us a license to relocate them so there is nothing we can do other than to let them remain in the churchyard, digging up the remains of people who have been buried for several hundred years.
“Because the setts are under or in the grave, we cannot even bury the bones in their rightful place. I have been told to carry out a monthly bone patrol, collect them all up and re-inter them in a new grave.”
He added: “It is ridiculous. If I decided to dig up a grave to build an extension for the church or something, there would be hell to pay, yet here we have people who are having their bones scattered at the whim of someone sitting in an office miles away.
“It lacks any common sense but sadly reflects the bureaucracy of modern life.
“And it can’t be healthy to touch these bones. Goodness knows what some of these people died of – there were things like Anthrax around and I know that can stay in the ground for a very long time.”
The field next to St Remigius Church is said to contain remains of the main residence of the Bozon family, Lords of the manor from 1304 to 1539.
The field and graveyard are part of a Scheduled Ancient Monument and whilst Natural England were initially happy to grant a licence, English Heritage advised that if moved the badgers could cause more damage to the protected site.
A spokesman said: “This is a complex issue where finding a solution to satisfy everyone is hard.
“We evaluate situations such as this on a case by case basis but we always aim to strike a balance between the welfare of wildlife and the preservation of human remains and scheduled ancient monuments.”
Under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, it is illegal to kill, injure or take a badger, or interfere with a sett. The maximum sentence is six months’ jail.
By Nick Britten
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