THE bereaved father of an organ scandal baby has lashed out at a decision to remove 'unsightly memorials', such as Teddy bears, from children's graves.

Carl Gibbons, 37, whose three-month-old daughter Janine died in 1993 at Alder Hey Hospital following heart surgery, warned: "Let them dare touch my daughter's grave."

Baby Janine is buried in two separate plots in Macclesfield Cemetery - her body in one and her heart just 50ft away.

The second grave in the children's Burial Plot has been fenced off into a shrine and personalised with a pot cherub, dried flowers and a child's handheld windmill.

"The decision is horrendous and I refuse to remove anything from little Janine's grave," he said. "I have been through enough already.

"Let them dare take anything off the grave and there will be trouble.

"I don't want people interfering, regardless of whose land it is. I won't have them telling me what I can and can't do on my own child's grave.

"Losing a child is difficult enough as it is, this is a very, very sensitive issue."

The borough wide 'clean up' - in which trinkets like teddy bears, toys, wooden and pot cherubs, Disney characters, and photographs would be removed and replaced by a carpet of blue crocuses - was welcomed by 14 councillors.

But seven members of the Amenities and Recreation committed voted to defer the matter for further discussions on what they feared would be 'a PR disaster'.

The recommended proposal is to re-enforce the Cemeteries Regulations 1974 and to contact families to ask them to remove any unauthorised memorials.

Public notices will be displayed in advance within the cemeteries and parents who don't comply run the risk of the council clearing the plots themselves.

Pictures were shown at the meeting of the 'offending' shrines which included a collection of children's playthings and home-made wooden canopies.

Outdoor Leisure boss Bill North said: "Although the sensitivity of this issue has been recognised we have received complaints from people who say that the graves are unsightly."

Coun Arnold, who called to defer a decision, feared an imminent PR disaster. "This a very emotive issue. I am amazed that the council is to have yet another PR disaster. When this hits the national press, god knows what it will do.

"I am staggered that a religious person can say 'let's rip out the graves and add to someone's grief'.

"What sort of people complain about a child's grave? It's very, very sad."

Coun Graham Evans agreed the council risked a major PR disaster if they failed to go about the issue 'correctly'.

A report highlighted the memorial trinkets as: plastic fences, crosses and other various monumental features such as curved edging usually bought from DIY stores and not stonemasons, kerbs, flatstones, railings, chains and bell glasses.

Coun Evans said: "The last thing we want is pictures of bereaved people all over the local papers against the officers."

Coun Paul Whiteley: "As for a PR disaster, we are not here to worry about some sensational headlines from the papers, we are elected to take responsible decisions on what we see as the interests and wishes of the public.

"The people who own the graves have actually signed an agreement, they knew what they were signing.

"The cemeteries should look simple and respectful like they always have done, not with little trinkets from the local garden centres."

Coun Lesley Roberts pointed out that only 0.85 per cent of the plots were causing offence.

"Why are we going at it now, why didn't we do something when they were first put up?

"People are just trying to put something around their children. They didn't expect them to go before them and they are just doing something different."

Coun Steve Carter agreed with the shrines. He said: "If my child had passed away I would want something like this.

"The ones which look unsightly look like they have been vandalised.

"The rules for children's graves should be reviewed and any tasteless or unsightly memorials be dealt with, leaving many of the graves in tact."