AN OKEHAMPTON funeral director has called for urgent action to resurface a lane used by his hearse to approach the parish church — saying its current state is disrespectful to the dead and grieving.

David Albery says the potholes are so deep that his hearse has to swerve to avoid them as it progresses slowly up the lane to the lych gate with him walking slowly beside it.

With the exact knowledge of who owns the lane lost in the mists of time, the upkeep of the road has fallen by the wayside.

However Mr Albery said the important thing was that action was taken ‘for the sake of dignity’.

‘As you enter between the two pillars of All Saints Parish Church, you are met with seriously humongous potholes which we have got to try and navigate the hearse around. It is just not dignified.’

He said a plan by the church authorities to fill in the holes with tarmac, being provided by Devon Highways, was a ‘temporary measure’. He called on Okehampton Town Council to help fund a more permanent solution.

‘I believe regardless of who owns what, the council has a civic duty to the people in this borough to ensure that the final part of their last journey is smooth and dignified.

‘Apparently the council can’t give money to a church but I just feel somebody needs to think beyond all the red tape and restrictions and whys and wherefores and do something about it.’

Speaking on Monday, Mr Albery said: ’This morning I did a funeral at All Saints and the hearse sunk right into the potholes on the way to the church. I have got another funeral tomorrow. People should not have to dodge the potholes to get to the main parish church. This is not a tiny village, this is the main church for the town of Okehampton and this it the only access road to it. To the town council I say it is just not fit for purpose.’

The lane outside the church is classed as a public bridleway, and Devon County Council, as the highways authority, has said it is happy with its condition.

However, as Mr Albery points out, it is the only access to both the church car park and the cemetery alongside it.

Town council clerk Emma James confirmed that she was looking into possible resolutions to the stalemate.

’The issue is that councils can’t give money to churches. It is a public bridleway so Devon County say it is up to the standard they are required to provide for bridleways. We don’t know who that piece of land belongs to. It is not resistered with the Land Registry. The church says it doesn’t belong to us. We are stuck because we can’t give money to the church, it is not something we are allowed to do.’

She added: ’There is one possible way we might be able to help. I can’t say what that is yet, but we are looking into what we can do.’

Tony Wood, from the Parochial Church Council, which looks after the church confirmed that as a short-term fix, Devon Highways are providing a load of tarmac and the church are paying a local contractor to do the work. Mr Wood said the work should be completed in the next few weeks.

’The situation at the moment is the churchyard where they are currently burying people is town council owned and there is nearly always someone tending the graves or visiting them, so I think the town council know it is unfair [not to help fund road resurfacing] but their hands are tied,’ he said.

’The potholes are very deep, four inches deep and there are lots of them and it is deteriorating all the time. It had been patched before and this is effectively patching, but at least it is being done professionally.

’I think what we will do will satisfy the undertakers and will satisfy the people who come and go up here, but in five, eight or ten years it will need redoing.’

He added that the cost of a full resurfacing job on the road had been estimated at £15,000, with the PCC suggesting a three-way split between the PCC, Okehampton Town Council and Devon Highways, as the church could not afford to fund the work alone.

The historic closed area of the churchyard, where burials are no longer conducted, is looked after by West Devon Borough Council. The newer graveyard is looked after by the town council and another area by the church.