Last weekend was the second anniversary of my younger sister's death.

I was horrified and distressed to see what has been done to the headstones in Seaford cemetery.

This beautiful and peaceful place which, every day of every year, is swept by bracing breezes without incident, has been needlessly desecrated.

Cemeteries are sacred places of repose and reflection, not children's playgrounds, and should be respected as such by everyone.

I have actually met and befriended children and teenagers in Seaford cemetery and they do what I do, walk the paths and lay flowers on their ancestors' graves.

Playing among headstones simply does not enter the picture. Please ask whoever was responsible for this intemperate decision to have all displaced headstones and memorials re-erected.

This was an entirely unnecessary exercise further compounded by being undertaken at the wrong time of year, as anyone with knowledge of sculpture or masonry would surely have advised.

If councillors are so concerned about somewhere for children to play, they should not have sold off the playing fields of the Downs School, which were bequeathed to the people of Seaford in perpetuity.

One field could have been turned into a park and the other as a playing field for all ball games, not just football.

As for safety, stones left lying on the ground waiting for young people to trip over them are going to be more dangerous. They will also become damaged and will have to be cleaned before re-erection.

The cost for all this bureaucratic irresponsibility should be deducted from councillors' salaries.

Headstones and memorials cost bereaved families a great deal of money. The cemetery is paid fees. This action is disrespectful to the living as well as the dead.

Such crass insensitivity is really quite monstrous and deeply distressing.

-Name and address supplied