GATES at a village cemetery car park are to be locked from today as a drastic measure to stop people using it as a dumping ground.Visitors to Combs Cemetery, Church Road, can no longer drive freely into the car park as a padlock and chain are keeping the gates firmly locked 24 hours a day.

GATES at a village cemetery car park are to be locked from today as a drastic measure to stop people using it as a dumping ground.

Visitors to Combs Cemetery, Church Road, can no longer drive freely into the car park as a padlock and chain are keeping the gates firmly locked 24 hours a day.

The move comes after local councillors got fed up of people dumping rubbish – a problem which started as soon as the cemetery opened three years ago.

And it follows yesterday's story in the Evening Star about rubbish being dumped at another Suffolk graveyard in Barham.

People visiting their loved ones in Combs will now have to find the church warden to be able to park their car.

Bob Paton, chairman of Combs parish council, said: "This is not something we want to do but it seems the only way we can stop this problem the minority of people are creating.

"It has been an idea we have been thinking about for some time now but the decision was still made with a feeling of disappointment and resignation."

The parish council own the 1.3acre cemetery and councillors are regularly forced to collect dumped litter.

Mr Paton said a lot of the rubbish left is from picnickers but more serious incidents have included two burnt out cars being left in the grounds.

The move came after another Suffolk church graveyard fell victim to dumpers this week.

In yesterday's Evening Star we revealed how a pile of rubbish and rubble had been left beside gravestones at the Church of St Mary and St Peter at Barham.

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