The former manager of Southend Crematorium has pleaded for a compromise following a row over personal items being left at plots in the woodland garden.

Mourners have been divided over whether personal memorabilia should be left at plots at the crematorium, in Sutton Road.

While some grieving relatives have taken comfort in remembering their loved ones with letters or toys, others are keen to preserve the character of the woodland garden.

But Reg Barton, who was the manager until recently, is arguing for people to be more understanding of each other.

Mr Barton, of Bournemouth Park Road, said: "Rightly or wrongly, I turned a blind eye to the various memorabilia and let families who had lost a child put their toys on the spot where their youngsters lay.

"So why not let them all rest in peace and visitors learn to live in peace? Perhaps a compromise could be found to suit all visitors to the crematorium."

Mr Barton said people had always felt strongly about their plots in the garden.

He said: "We let relatives put log rolls around their trees and put various plants within the log rolls. The plants were only to be natural woodland ones, but when I used to come back to work on a Monday morning, all sorts of various plants had appeared over the weekend.

"At first letters would go out to the offending relatives, but to no avail. Once again, people became upset and, on several occasions, I was personally threatened."