A Calgary woman is accusing city staff of desecrating graves during a by-the-book cleanup of Queen's Park Cemetery.

Personal items like lanterns, stuffed animals, plastic flowers and flags have been collected by city workers and put into tagged plastic bags in a fenced part of the northwest Calgary cemetery.

"I think that it's a desecration of the grave sites so I'm disappointed on a personal level because I think it's disrespectful," said Michelle Christopher, whose grandmother is buried in the cemetery.

Every year the city does a spring cleanup at Queen's Park Cemetery, said Derek Maher, the cemetery business co-ordinator with the City of Calgary.

This year, they've decided to enforce city guidelines about what can and can't be placed in front of graves because families expressed concerns the graves were getting too cluttered, he said.

"There's also an issue for us as far as maintenance and safety concerns," he said. "Glass items, anything breakable like that, or rocks, anything to that nature, the lawn care equipment can't drive over them without having them become a projectile."
 
Maher says ornaments, temporary vases, potted plants, plastic flowers, and even some fences are being removed from plots.

The city posted 30 small notices on the grounds in October about the cleanup, but they're still being contacted by confused visitors, he said.

Christopher, who had seen the signs and did remove items from her grandmother's grave, said the city should have done more to notify people. She said she couldn't imagine having to dig through the bags to find a Greek oil lamp blessed by a priest for her grandmother.

"If I had to come and look for other items of personal significance or religious significance that were dumped here, I think I would be first very upset and then very angry."