SECURITY measures designed to keep thieves out of Crewe Cemetery have come under fire from disabled users.
TB sufferer Steve Washington, 50, of Rosewood Close in Crewe says he faces an almost daily battle just to see his grandparents' grave because the gate nearest the burial site is locked.
He has to walk 20 minutes from his home to the main gates on Badger Avenue because gates on Middlewich Street, Broad Street and Market Street are kept locked.
He said: 'It takes me a long time to walk anywhere because I have to keep stopping for a rest to get my breath back and use my inhaler.
'My mum is disabled after having a stroke two years ago and can't walk. I look after her 24 hours a day, seven days a week and I take her to see the grave regularly.
'Many disabled people are in the same boat. It's hard work pushing a wheelchair at the best of times, especially in the summer heat.'
Crewe's access arrangements for disabled people were put under the spotlight last week when town councillor Ray Stafford toured streets with Vicky Perez, 27, who is wheel-chair-bound.
He is calling for better access to town centre shops, dropped kerbs and more ramps after seeing the problems for himself.
But cemetery bosses at the Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council facility say they are not breaking any rules over keeping the gates locked.
It was a security measure to stop vandals wrecking headstones and thieves who took items from graves.
Cemetery manager Mary Slinn said: 'We had a spate of theft around six years ago and the council decided to install gates which only allow pedestrians on foot access.
'We do not break the Disability Act because we provide access to disabled visitors through the main gates. Drivers with a disabled badge may also drive onto the site.'
