A horrified pensioner told how she thought vandals had toppled her loved one's gravestones - only to discover the council had pushed them over, turning the graveyard into a "rubbish heap".

Pamela O'Neill, 79, from Augustus Road, Southfields, called Wandsworth Council "mad caps" after she found both her parents' and former partner's headstones lying flat at Putney Vale Cemetery in Roehampton when she visited the site on March 26 - Mother's Day.

To add to the insult, her late partner Victor Blundell's grave was toppled just weeks after the 10th anniversary of his death.

Miss O'Neill said a superintendent had explained they had been laid down because of a fatality in Liverpool 11 years ago caused by an unstable headstone.

She said: "I find it hard to accept the method in which this has been carried out without sufficient publication or notices.

"Surely something could have been put up as a notice at the entrance to the cemetery," she said.

However, Wandsworth Council said a letter was written to Miss O'Neill - who claims she did not receive anything before the visit - warning that unstable graves could have injured or even accidentally killed someone.

She says she will now have to pay for extra cement and safety precautions to restore the graves.

Miss O'Neill said: "I was horrified. I really thought the graves had been vandalised.

"I cannot accept that these mad caps have done this, just going around at random and not bothering to tell anyone. They should have put up a notice at the end of the cemetery saying they have done this and why."

Miss O'Neill was hoping to be buried next to her loved ones.

She said: "I am 79, coming up 80, and do not relish the idea to be laid to rest in a devastated rubbish heap."

A spokesman for Wandsworth Council said graves had to be maintained properly under health and safety rules.

She said: "We understand that Miss O'Neill visited the cemetery last week, before receiving our notification letter explaining the situation.

"We did explain what had happened and advised that a notification letter had been sent. The headstones had to be laid down immediately for safety reasons. Should anyone attempt to lean on the structures, they could topple over, leading to injury or even death.

"We understand that it is very upsetting for people to be faced with this but it is an essential part of ensuring that all memorials and headstones in our cemeteries are safe and secure."