Mourners who visit the grave of a loved one at the Addolorata Cemetery will no longer have to bear the insensitive site of disintegrated caskets dumped in skips.

Lowering the coffin with dignity seemed to be too much for these people

From now on, skips will be screened off when graves are cleaned, according to a Health Ministry spokesman.

On March 18, The Times published a photo sent in by a reader, showing rotting coffins and other materials piled into an open skip at the back entrance of the Addolorata Cemetery.

Reader Chris Delicata said there was clearly no regard for the sentiment of mourners. He said this was not the first time he had seen this and appealed to the authorities to introduce a more decent way to dispose of waste.

When contacted, the ministry, under whose responsibility the cemetery falls, confirmed the skips were used for material originating from the cleaning carried out in the cemetery.

“The skip featured in The Times contained material from the grave-cleaning carried out between March 15 and 18. Cleaning of the cemetery is an ongoing daily operation … A new temporary screen has now been provided to Addolorata cemetery employees to keep the skips covered after use,” the spokesman said.

Cemetery employees have often been criticised for their insensitivity towards mourners’ feelings.

On February 25, a reader wrote in to complain about gravediggers’ behaviour during a funeral he had attended some time earlier.

“It was like something out of a Charlie Chaplin film. The attend-ants employed by the Health Department were rude to the family (of the deceased) and their dress code left a lot to be desired for the job they are paid to do …

“Lowering the coffin with dignity seemed to be too much for these people. They decided to tie a rope to the coffin and lower it head first. When they got to the last couple of feet they decided to let go of the rope and the coffin landed with a great thump,” he wrote.

The ministry spokesman said gravediggers’ uniform wore out fast because of the nature of their job.

“Measures are being considered to provide the gravediggers with a replacement uniform on a more frequent basis … As regards their behaviour, meetings are held regularly to help them understand the nature of their work so that they rise to the occasion by being empathetic to the situation,” the spokesman said.