An apology has been given by a Gloucester vicar, who has pushed over gravestones without notifying relatives.

Rev Mike Smith sent an email - as reported by the BBC- to Kath Green, after she noticed her family grave headstone lying on the ground, within the church grounds of St George's, Brockworth cemetery.

Rev Smith said in an email to Ms Green that he had laid the headstones down in a "careful and respectful way" and apologised for any upset caused.

He justified moving the headstones saying: "As you probably noticed there were many that were unsafe, and I still have more to inspect" and "under advice of the safety of burial grounds as set out by the Ministry of Justice and the Diocese of Gloucester, there is a risk that an unstable headstone could cause injury."

Ms Green told the BBC however that she "was really, really upset" and that if she had been told in advance that the headstone would be laid down, she "could have said something about, it, "but we had no idea."

She also revealed it had cost her family £150 to re-install the headstone safely and that when she spoke to a stonemason, he told Ms Green that he was also upset at the treatment of the headstone.