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People with loved ones buried in a village cemetery were concerned when muddy water began pouring through the graveyard.

Heavy rain was blamed for the slippage of mud from the neighbouring Lochay Homes development.

The graveyard at Airth Parish Church, which was built around 200 years ago to replace the Old Parish Church building, is on a hillside which runs from Cemetery Brae to Graham Terrace.

The housing development sits at the top of the hill adjacent to Curling Avenue. The housebuilders said that workmen were sent to clean up the area immediately they were made aware of the problem last week

The grounds in Airth cemetery had debris and soil run into it from Lochay Homes Castle Gate construction site. Pic: Michael Gillen

But some residents were unhappy that it happened in the first place, including one woman who lives in Australia but was recently back in the village.

Anne Gourlay said: “My parents grave is just below on the slope this mudslide is travelling. This is distressing and disrespectful to say the least and an insult to the village and their loved ones buried in the cemetery.”

Lochay Homes were originally given planning permission for 107 houses, but a spokesperson for the company said it is about to launch the second phase of its development to include bungalows and will be reducing the number of planned properties on the site to 94.

Lochay Homes director Jamie Thomson said: “Following last Monday’s flood warning there was an isolated issue on Wednesday, January 11, when some muddy water escaped from the site into the graveyard. We were made aware of this and it was cleaned up immediately.

The Castle Gate construction site being developed by Lochay Homes

"A bund and debris netting have been put in place to ensure this cannot happen again. We will monitor this to ensure there are no further issues.”

At the time planning permission was granted in October 2019, the housebuilder was asked to contribute over £1 million with £280,000 to Airth Primary School, £226,800 to Larbert High School and £75,000 for nursery provision.

The developer must also pay £472,500 towards off-site affordable housing.

The site is part of the Local Development Plan and did not need to go to committee for approval but was rubber-stamped by officials.

Concerns after mud slippage into Airth Cemetery from nearby housing development