I am writing to express the anger I felt when visiting Holy Trinity Churchyard in Street on Saturday, August 21.

I went to clean up and trim around the memorial stone to my husband which is by the path and situated behind a small concrete pillar. There is a little room to put flowers here, but at some point a small holly bush had become established from a berry dropped by the pillar. I had taken care to trim it and keep the plot tidy. It produced a crop of berries that Christmas around his birthday, and I took comfort from the fact it had chosen to establish itself there.

A couple of years ago an over-zealous council worker cut it down almost completely destroying it, and I made an issue to Mendip District Council (MDC) and spoke to the church wardens at that time, complaining that most of the churchyard looked a complete mess after the enforced clean up with headstones having been toppled (for implied health and safety reasons) and silk and plastic flowers in abundance stuck in memorial pots, plastic flowerpots full of dead plants and broken chains around the area, which resulted in MDC offering a veiled apology.

This year the holly bush sprouted and I have trimmed it. A small variegated plant also put down its roots and I put some small geranium plants by the side to keep the area looking colourful, two of which disappeared quite quickly, and when I arrived on Saturday there had been another so called clean up. Holly had been cut off at ground level quite deliberately, and the variegated plant had gone. Why? What possible harm could it cause to anyone? Can we educate employees of the council to differentiate between plants and troublesome weeds?

Should we not be encouraging wildlife and regeneration in such areas? Wildlife in churchyards can thrive if properly managed. Protected species can be discovered, natural species encouraged. Pathways in the grass can be cut and other areas left to regenerate naturally and they can become an area for the community to be proud of, enjoy and learn from. Why then do we need to saw, petrol strim and weed-kill these areas. It does not seen to happen in some of the very pretty, peaceful and well managed village churchyards around Somerset.

I believe that MDC took over the management of the churchyard when it closed to all burials a few years ago. If we are now paying for this service through council tax, surely it would be sensible for MDC to adopt a green policy and cut down on any unnecessary expenditure and even encourage voluntary working parties by holding "a green weekend" for families to help out.

I enclose some photographs taken on Monday, August 23 of the two cremation areas. I leave you to make up your mind as to whether this looks like an acceptable management of these resting places.

These issues affect us all and if we do not provide and encourage local habitats for the wildlife, on which we all depend, and educate future generations, then our future does indeed look bleak.

Mrs Jillian M Wallis Leigh Road Street