Derek Mallinson, of Pennine View, Upton, regularly visits his wife’s grave in the cemetery at St Mary’s Church on Main Street.

Mr Mallinson, 73, said he was shocked to find grass and weeds growing above gravestones and he is calling on Wakefield Council to take action.

He said: “It’s heartbreaking.

“I go down there regularly to visit the grave of my wife, Jean. The grass hardly ever gets cut. It’s too deep. When I go I can only just see the top of Jean’s grave. It’s been like that for ages.

“I complained to the church but they told me the council should be looking after it.”

On Monday Hemsworth town councillor George Mellows visited the cemetery to help Glenys Wilks tidy up her grandparents’ grave, where her mother’s ashes have also been scattered.

He said: “It’s a disgrace. About 75 per cent of the cemetery is totally overgrown with weeds that are 2ft high. It’s upsetting enough when you go to a cemetery without this.

“We took some garden shears with us to try and tidy up the grave a bit. It wasn’t until we began cutting the weeds that we realised someone had actually put flowers on the grave.”

Ms Wilks, 60, of Edna Street, South Elmsall, said: “It’s disgusting. My loved ones are there and it shows no respect whatsoever.

“I had to trudge through the grass just to get to the grave. It was so long that it was still wet – despite the nice weather we’ve been having.

“It took us a long time to cut the grass.

“My brother was telling me not to go up there while it was in this state because it would just upset me, but I hadn’t been there since Mothers’ Day.

“I can’t understand why other churchyards can be kept so nice but not this one.”

June Rothwell, Wakefield Council’s service manager for neighbourhoods, said the churchyard was looked after by the council and the grass was cut every six months.

The council said the grass was due to be cut by the end of this week.