STREET sweeper Tanya Proudfoot has come across some funny things in her time - but a 6ft gravestone was a first.

Tanya, 29, was on her usual round in Brighton when she stumbled across the giant Victorian headstone.

Now the Ecovert South worker is appealing for relatives of the person named on it to come forward and reclaim it.

Tanya, whose previous finds include engine parts, sofas and even an artificial leg, stowed it in her van after finding it in Whitehawk.

She said: "We were in Beresford Road when one of the sweepers said they had found a large piece of wood which seemed to have been thrown out from somewhere at the side of the road.

"They said it seemed to have some writing on it and when I turned it over, I found out it was a headstone, measuring about six feet by two feet.

"It's made of thick wood and it's really nice."

The inscription on the headstone reads: "To the memory of Jane Compton, the wife of Richard Compton, died April 1844, loving wife and tender mother with patience bore her pain, but now also we trust she has returned to bliss again."

It will now be temporarily stored at the Ecovert base on Upper Hollingbury Road.

Anyone who thinks they may be related to Jane Compton and wishes to claim the gravestone should call Tanya on 0402 440484.

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