Abbey Lane Cemetery: Sheffield family demands council either fix flooding or pay to reinter their dad

Anthony O’Nion, a dad of two from Beauchief, passed away suddenly earlier this month aged 64. His daughters, Sophie and Sarah, had planned for him to join his mother at Abbey Lane Cemetery, where many members of his family have been buried over the years. He will be laid to rest later today (November 28).

However, the Sheffield’s dad funeral plans were almost thrown into chaos last week when the graveyard was flooded for at least 10 days by heavy rain. One visitor told The Star some plots could only be reached “with wellies” and compared it to “a duck pond”.

Now, Anthony’s family – who say they have seen the plot flooded ‘every year’ – is demanding that the council either find a permanent fix to the issue or pay to have their dad reinterred in a more stable plot.

Sheffield City Council says it is in contact with Anthony’s family and has since drained the standing water. It is halting further burials on surrounding plots while they survey the entire cemetery.

Anthony’s daughter Sarah O’Nion, 34, said: “My back garden overlooks the spot on Abbey Lane Cemetery and it floods every year. I don't believe they will be able to come up with a permanent fix, otherwise they could have done it already.

"It’s already been a traumatic month and it was so stressful when it looked like we couldn’t go ahead with the funeral due to the flooding.

"We either want assurances in writing that this will never happen again, or, if they cannot do that, we want the council to pay for our dad to be moved to another plot.”

The family also say they felt insulted when, five days before their dad’s burial, the council reached out through their funeral directors, Alfred Dunham & Sons, and asked them to postpone the ceremony due to the conditions. A council spokesperson said this was “not an instruction but giving the family an offer if they prefer to do so”.

"To have the audacity to ask to rearrange a funeral with five days notice – when family are coming from out of town and the flowers are already paid for – is unbelievable,” said Sarah.

A spokesperson for Sheffield City Council said it has suspended any further burials on the affected areas of Abbey Lane Cemetery while it carries out a fresh flooding survey. Any planned funerals will be honoured in the meantime, and funeral directors will reportedly advise families that the land is liable to flooding.

The spokesperson the council’s Bereavement Service acknowledged the issue was “very distressing for people visiting loved ones” was “working hard to try and prevent this happening in the future”. However, they added they “cannot guarantee flooding issues will be permanently rectified”.

They added: “Where graves are affected by these flooding issues, the Council is not able to cover costs of relocation should families request this, but will provide the necessary support to help them make the discuss the options and make the necessary arrangements.”