Human remains will be exhumed from Fife graves as urgent work is carried out to shore up a dangerous wall.
Fife Council is making a legal bid for permission to carry out the exhumation of part of historic Abbotshall Church graveyard in the centre of Kirkcaldy.
The move has been deemed vital as a section of the high boundary wall has a “significant” inward lean.
Any further movement in the stone wall would result in it becoming unstable, with a risk that it would become a potential threat and could collapse on Abbotshall Road.
The wall will be taken down to pavement level and rebuilt using the existing stone.
The pavement and near lane of Abbotshall Road will be closed, with traffic controls and road diversions set to be in place.
Councillor Judy Hamilton, who revealed the local authority would be working with specialist exhumation experts, pledged the remains would be removed and replaced in their original resting places in as sensitive a manner as possible.
Church of Scotland Minister the Rev Rosemary Frew, who will conduct a reinterment service, thanked the council for the “careful and sensitive way” it is carrying out the work.
Fife Council is applying to Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court for permission to carry out the delicate work in the graveyard of the kirk, which dates from 1650.
It is also advertising the project to allow relatives of those interred to make representations to the court, or contact the council.
Picture by David Wardle
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