Easter egg hunt in cemetery cancelled after event branded 'disrespectful'

Organisers of an Easter egg hunt in a Wrexham cemetery have made an "emergency decision" to cancel the event after it was subject to angry backlash online.The Friends of Wrexham Cemetery group were planning to hold an egg hunt at the city's historic graveyard on Ruabon Road on Wednesday.

The event poster invited attendees to "hop on over" to the cemetery for "some egg-citing fun".

But the event was met with backlash on Facebook, with people branding it "disrespectful" and others sharing concerns that their loved ones were buried at the cemetery.

On its Facebook page, the Friends of Wrexham Cemetery group insisted the event would be a good idea to encourage young people to get interested in "local genealogy," and suggested youngsters would use the paths instead of "climbing on graves".

It continued by saying that "children enjoying an outdoor space... should be encouraged."

The Friends of Wrexham Cemetery group say its mission is to help "preserve our wonderful Victorian cemetery," which dates back to the 1870s.

The space contains memorials dedicated to servicemen from the World Wars, with a dedicated Polish servicemen memorial.

The cemetery acts as the main burial site for Wrexham, with around 100 burials happening per year.However, the event post sparked a number of angry comments on Facebook from Wrexham residents.

One comment said: "This is extremely disrespectful," while another added: "It’s not a playground, nor was it ever acceptable to think that this event should happen."Following the backlash, a further statement from the Friends group said: "We as friends of Wrexham Cemetery have had to make an emergency decision to cancel our event to safeguard the young people that were going to participate in the garden and paths of our outdoor museum."Wrexham Cemetery opened in 1876 and its Grade II-listed chapels and lodge were designed by William Turner. The cemetery was laid out to serve as Wrexham's unofficial first park.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...