Jayne Jackson began maintaining the Knaresborough Cemetery after feeling Harrogate Borough Council wasn’t doing enough.

Mrs Jackson has been working on the grounds for almost four years but now ill health means she has to pack away her tools.

As a regular visitor to the cemetery, near King James’ School, to visit her parent’s graves Mrs Jackson said she was getting “frustrated” by its condition.

She said there were a host of issues including; long grass, overgrown bushes and tree roots causing graves to collapse.

Mrs Jackson has reported issues over the years including a leaking tap and damaged graves, to the council, but said these often went ignored or took a long time to be repaired.

Mrs Jackson said she knew she had to do something for the town she has lived in since she was seven years old.

Her lone volunteering turned into a large undertaking costing her “100s of pounds of my own money”. She would tackle the overgrown foliage and keep weeds at bay.

It was also important for Mrs Jackson to carefully maintain the baby and war graves. Her aim was to create a peaceful place for others.

Jayne Jackson left this note for the cemetery’s visitors.

But now, she has been left questioning why she continues to work on such a large space alone:

“It was important for me to keep it tidy. Over the years there’s been less and less maintenance, lots of the graves have just been left to overgrow. I’ve enjoyed doing it and met some lovely people too but a little help from the council would go a long way.

“I’ve got so frustrated I now just think what’s the point?”

Mrs Jackson has said she hopes Harrogate Borough Council take the same care she did to maintain the cemetery.

Councillor Andrew Paraskos, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling, said:

“On behalf of the council’s bereavement services, I’d like to say thank you to Jayne Jackson for her work at Knaresborough Cemetery, it has been very much appreciated.

“We have a regular programme work, across all of the district’s cemeteries that we manage, and when specific issues are raised we work to address these.

“Visitors to several of the cemeteries across the district may also start to notice some areas that are being left to grow and not mown. We want to encourage biodiversity so are working with parish councils to leave specific areas to grow, attract pollinators and create habitats.

“We will of course continue to mow the grass along pathways and around gravestones so that mourners can pay their respects to their loved ones.”

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Opened in 1876 the graveyard holds over 3,000 graves.

Her hard work has not gone unnoticed with numerous local residents thanking her on a Facebook post after she left a note in the cemetery to say she was stopping her work.

Mrs Jackson says it is her time to step away after noticing her arthritis makes some of the jobs too difficult.