Grieving parents said they feel ‘disgusted and heartbroken’ over the neglected state of a Merseyside cemetery where dead animals were found amongst the graves of babies.

Kelly Louise, 29, said there was ‘no excuse’ for the state of the baby garden at Landican Cemetery after being sent pictures from a friend who claimed she found ‘dead mice and rabbits’ when she visited this week.

The-mum-of-three lost a son at birth when she was just 20, and said she and other parents have tried to make it a peaceful resting place under the tragic circumstances of losing a child.

But as these upsetting images show, sentimental headstones are swamped in overgrown grass, while an animal carcass can be seen on one grave.

Kelly, who visited the cemetery on Thursday, said: “The grass was right up past my heels, it was disgusting.

“I just think that there is no excuse for not keeping it maintained. I’ve never seen it that bad before. What are we paying our Council Tax for? The least we should get is for the grass to be kept clean.

“Wildlife is to be expected but if it was managed properly [dead animals] would not be left there. It’s just not nice to see. It’s disgusting.”

A spokesperson from Wirral Council said Landican staff remove animals from all graves either after spotting them themselves or when the public report them, as was done in this case.

However the local authority said they understood the anguish caused and promised to make improvements.

Beautician Kelly said she usually visits the cemetery once a month to put trinkets and solar lights on her son’s grave and has never seen it look so bad.

She said most parents find it very difficult to visit the baby garden – and would be hurt by seeing the state of neglect it has fallen into.

The heartbroken mum said she sympathised with the cemetery staff, who told her they were understaffed and struggling against budget cuts.

However she questioned why Wirral Council could not make maintaining the grounds a priority in their budget given the sensitive nature of the place.

She said: “It used to be a peaceful place to grieve. It’s hard enough going there anyway.

“Especially the fact that it’s a baby garden, it’s the most sensitive part of the cemetery. It’s just hurtful.

“I only go once a month, I do what I can. It’s gotten so much worse.

“For parents who have to see their babies graves and the ornaments overgrown with grass. It’s horrible.”

People reacted with shock and horror after seeing the photos of the baby garden on Facebook.

One mum, whose child is also buried at Landican, said: “I’m just heartbroken our babies’ resting places are left in such a bad way.”

Another said: “It’s all over Landican recently, my mum’s ashes are in the memorial garden and went we went recently it was full of nettles and weeds.”

A third said: “They are usually really good. My mum and sister are buried up there and have been for 20+ years.

“I wonder what’s gone wrong this year for them not to have done it yet?”

Councillor Julie McManus, who is the cabinet member for community services, apologised over the state of the baby garden, and promised to take action to improve it.

She said: “I completely understand the anguish that parents feel after finding their babies’ graves have not been maintained to a high standard.

“Restricted access to these graves can result in our dedicated staff struggling to properly mow lawns and overgrowing grass without disturbing the many flowers, photos, candles and other sentimental items adorning the graves .

“As a result, a lot of this maintenance has to be done by hand instead which is obviously more time consuming.

“As part of efforts to address this issue, staff are currently looking at further improvement works within the Baby Garden which will reduce the need for such intensive ground maintenance and allow visitors to continue to create their special tributes on their loved ones’ graves.”