‘Disgusting and disrespectful’
Chloe Hopkins who died in 2023, and how her family found her grave(Image: Family handouts)
Police were called to Southern Cemetery as a family tending the grave of a young woman found it had been buried under a pile of soil.
Chloe Hopkins, who died aged 26, was buried at the Manchester site three years ago. Her loved ones said they found soil on top of her grave as an adjacent plot was dug up ahead of a funeral.
Greater Manchester Police said officers were called to the cemetery in Chorlton, south Manchester, on Monday afternoon (February 2) to ‘reports of a disturbance’. No arrests were made.
Although there is no headstone, Chloe’s grave is well tended and visited almost daily by her family. The plot is decorated with solar lights, balloons, flowers and mementoes.
The family said a small wooden fence around the plot, and items placed nearby, were moved aside as nearby work was undertaken. A name plate, Chloe’s loved ones claim, was found cracked and taped back together.
The grave of Chloe Hopkins at Southern Cemetery, covered in soil(Image: Family handout)
Council bosses have apologised ‘for any distress caused’. They said they will discuss any breakages with the family.
Chloe, from Newton Heath, died in January 25, 2023, following a long battle with illness. A Manchester United fan, she worked in hospitality in an executive suite at Old Trafford and regularly served club legends such as Sir Alex Ferguson. She tried to make the most of life despite her illness and even made a bucket list.
One of seven siblings, Chloe struggled with cystic fibrosis from birth and eventually had a double lung transplant. But her body eventually rejected the new organs, according to her family.
Chloe’s older sister Claire, 41, who also took parental responsibility for Chloe, told the Manchester Evening News the treatment of her sister’s grave was ‘disgusting and disrespectful’.
She said: “It’s heartbreaking. I look after that grave virtually every day and sometimes I come a couple of times a day. We’re very close family. When I saw what they’d done, I was shocked. I was crying. Everything had been pushed back, and some things were broken like the lights.
“I told them they had disrespected her grave and disrespected our sister.
How Chloe’s grave usually looks(Image: Claire Hopkins)
Claire said she went to the office at the cemetery and continued to vent her unhappiness with other members of her family. She added: “The police turned up and they were actually quite sympathetic. They spoke to me, but there was no arrest.
“I was shouting, to be fair, that they had disrespected Chloe’s grave like she’s a piece of s**t. I was saying ‘how dare you do that and how can you just put the soil on top of her like that when there’s other places it can go?’ I did lose my temper. I was crying. I was shocked.
“If I had received a phone call and they said ‘this is the only way we can do it’, I would have accepted it. I would have gone down and removed everything carefully. It just looked like a big tip. My brothers and sisters are heartbroken.”
Claire, who says she is being treated mental health problems following the death of her sister, added: “We’ve tried to move forward as a family and keep her memory alive. Her grave is never left on its own. Chloe gets visits every single day.”
She said she decorated the grave at Christmas, birthdays and others dates in the calendar, adding: “When you are going through things and you are struggling, it’s not acceptable to go to the grave and see what they have done to her. It’s hard enough going, let alone seeing it look like a tip. It’s wrong.
“She lived life to the full. She loved to travel. After her first transplant, she travelled the world.”
The soil had been removed from Chloe’s grave by the following day and returned to the plot from which it had been dug, following a burial.
Town hall leaders say all grave owners are informed that it is ‘standard practice’ to place soil on a neighbouring plot when preparing a new grave. Protective sheeting is put up to protect objects placed on graves, they say.
Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon, the town hall’s executive member for ‘vibrant neighbourhoods’, said: “We understand that it can be upsetting for families to find temporary restrictions around a loved one’s grave which is why every effort is taken when excavating new graves to do this as carefully and respectfully as possible. We apologise for any distress caused to the family and will be reaching out to speak to them about any concerns or items they feel may have been damaged.
“During this incident staff were subjected to verbal abuse and physical aggression and personal threats were made which led to the police being called. While we always aim to support bereaved families sensitively, we cannot tolerate abuse or violence towards staff.”