DAMAGE to a stone monolith has left a parish council with a race against time to fix it in order to open a new burial ground.

There is believed to be £3,000 worth of damage to the piece of slate, which residents think was hit by a car overnight not long after it was installed.

It is intended to be an entrance marker for a new burial ground, which is due to open in October, but will now have to be repaired.

Martley Parish Council town clerk Michelle Alexander said: “It has been the result of a lot of hard work by residents and the Parish Council so we are obviously very upset to see damage almost straight away.

“We believe that this has been caused by a vehicle coming off the road and across the verge.

“There have also been recent reports of drag racing along this stretch of road, which have been reported to Police.”

A spokesman for the Parish Council’s work group, which set up the Martley Countryside Burial Ground, in Berrow Green Road, said: “It was a massive disappointment to see what had happened.

“The burial ground is being opened on October 5 so it is a race against time to get it fixed and ready.”

There has also been a spate of damage to play equipment on the recreation field in the town, with a picnic bench destroyed, as well as basket ball boards and nets damaged.

It is believed that the monolith stone will cost approximately £3,000 to repair and replace, plus around £1,000 for the picnic bench and basketball boards.

The Parish Council would like to hear from anyone with information about the damage to the monolith or to the playground equipment.

Anyone with information can contact West Mercia Police on 101 quoting the following incident numbers:

For the monolith: 475S130819

For the bench and boards: 22/75476/19