A Canvey widow was shattered to find her husband's grave submerged in water - 24 hours after he was buried.

The widow and her family, who do not wish to be named, visited the grave at Cemetery Corner, Benfleet, on Saturday afternoon only to find it flooded, leaving dozens of flowers and wreaths ruined.

Police and council workers were called to the scene in an attempt to remove what was described by police as a "substantial amount" of water.

Castle Point Council, responsible for the cemetery, promised to investigate but it was not immediately known if the flood was caused by rain or a burst pipe.

The teenage son of the dead man said his family was incensed.

"It is devastating for all of us, especially my mum who is very, very upset. Saturday was my mum's birthday and her wedding anniversary too, it is a nightmare.

"The grave obviously wasn't done properly and with all the flowers under water it just looks awful.

"The council has now boarded over the grave for the time being. It is disgusting."

Dave Blackwell, chairman of the leisure committee, said: "We feel very sorry for this family and our hearts go out to them. It has been the wettest autumn since 1807 which hasn't helped matters but we will quickly rectify the problem by pumping the water away at the first chance we get."

Insp Paul Everett of Benfleet police was at the scene with officers who liaised with the family and local authority.

He said: "This was a very distressing situation for the family. We do not know how this incident occurred but the local authority responsible spoke to them and made provisions to deal with the problem. They also tended to the grave to the satisfaction of the family."

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