Ringwood council has launched safety checks in the town's cemetery following fears about the dangers posed by unstable gravestones.

As many as ten per cent of the stones tested so far have been found to be a potential risk to graveyard visitors.

Those deemed unsafe will be laid down flat unless the families tending the graves take steps to improve the situation.

Councils across the country have become increasingly concerned about compensation claims from people injured by falling stones.

Two months ago, Harrogate Borough Council paid out £33,000 in an out-of-court settlement to a couple whose six-year-old son had been crushed to death by a falling headstone.

Councillor Norman Light, chairman of Ringwood Town Council's Open Spaces Committee, said: "We are aware that gravestones are a very emotive subject but the council owes a duty of care to all visitors to the cemetery.

"If any headstones are found to be dangerous, the council must take all reasonable steps to ensure that any remedial work is carried out."

Ringwood council has invested about £800 in special equipment to test the stability of headstones in its cemetery in Hightown Road.

Groundsman Steve Smith said: "Some are definitely dangerous - you just touch them and they could fall over."

Once an unsafe gravestone is identified, it will be roped off and a "danger" sign hung around it.

Where possible, cemetery staff will provide temporary support for the headstones, but if stones are dangerously unstable, they will have to be laid down immediately. The council will then notify the family involved, giving them 28 days to take action.

Although the council owns the graveyard, the responsibility for maintaining individual burial plots rests with the families of the deceased, including the upkeep of the memorials and headstones. Families can carry out minor work themselves, or give consent for the council to do so, but if major repairs prove necessary, they may have to call in a stonemason.

If staff cannot locate a family or they don't respond, stones will be laid down, with the inscription face up.