A flooding problem which was ruining a memorial area for a family who lost two sons in a car crash four years ago has been fixed within 24 hours thanks to a pledge by the Fenland District Council cemetery team.

Cambs Times: Graves flood at chatteris cemetery.Graves flood at chatteris cemetery. (Image: Archant)

A family called for steps to be taken to stop flooding in an area where their two boys were buried in 2010.

The brothers, Mitchell and Matthew Jacobs were 18 and 19 years old when they died in the crash near Papworth.

The Cromwell Community College students are remembered with a memorial headstone in the ashes area of Chatteris Cemetery where the family go to reflect and find peace.

In recent months, however, there has been a flooding problem which leaves the ground muddy making it difficult to tend to the grave but also difficult to get to the nearby bench.

Rose Jacobs said: “At times it is dreadful down there where it is flooded and the ground seems sunken.

“It looks like the stones around our boys’ stone have sunk and are uneven. There’s about 10 in a row that are affected.

“It gets so bad that sometimes you cant walk on the grass as it is so wet and slippy and muddy.”

Mitchell and Matthew, of Sadlers Way, Chatteris, died when the car they were travelling in was in a collision with a Scania concrete-mixer at Elsworth.

A spokesman for Fenland District Council said: “We have visited the cemetery this morning (Wednesday) to see if there is anything more we can do to alleviate the problem of localised flooding of these ashes plots and the graves next to them.

“Several years ago we put in extra drainage in the graves section, which has helped. Unfortunately, due partly to the nature of the soil – solid clay - flooding does still remain a problem when we get heavy rain.

“Consequently, we are now going to install a French drain between the graves and the ashes plots and then link some smaller drainage sections between each of the blocks of 10 ashes plots. We will also link some extra drainage pipes into the graves section.

“Once all this is in place, we will remove all the turf from around the ashes plots, put down a membrane to suppress weed growth and then spread ornamental gravel over the whole area that contains the 80 ashes plots.

“We plan to start this work in the middle to end of January and hope to complete it by mid-February.”