A HILLSIDE graveyard has been totally revamped by kind-hearted brothers after their mum was buried there.

Alan Dyson and Gerry Robinson were disappointed at how overgrown Scapegoat Hill Baptist Church's graveyard had become when their 80-year-old mum, Marian Whitwam, was buried there in March, 2001.

So on the day of the funeral they decided they would do something about it.

Both are retired engineers who used to work at David Brown's and have dedicated themselves to tidying up the graveyard, off Taylor Lane, ever since.

Gerry, 65, of Greetland, said: "It was virtually impossible to walk in the graveyard when we started.

"We began with the area near mum's grave - and it just spread from there."

The early days were the toughest.

The brothers had to smooth out the walkways, rip out all the undergrowth and then strim back all the long grass.

They also formed a small car park at the top of the steep site.

Gerry added: "It's taken us five years to get the graveyard to the point where now it's all about maintenance.

"It takes both of us three hours to strim it all, which we like to do at least every other week in summer.

"In the early days we were working here two or three times a week."

Alan, 61, from Golcar, said: "Our mum was the best mum in the world, so in a way this is our lasting tribute to her.

"We started by just tidying up around her grave. But we then looked at the rest of the cemetery and decided it all needed doing.

"We'd both taken early retirement, so we bought a mower and a couple of strimmers and got stuck in.

"We've noticed more people coming into the graveyard to lay flowers on graves since we started work. Many come over to thank us for what we've done.

"We'll keep on doing the work as long as we can."

The brothers have a sister, Sandra Murphy, who lives in Linthwaite and goes to the grave to lay flowers.

Scapegoat Hill Baptist Church used to be near Parkin Square on High Street in the 1800s.

It moved to its current site, on School Road, in the very early 1900s.

A plan to buy a graveyard was first put forward in 1876.

But land was not bought until 1903, at a place known as Weasel Hill.

The graveyard is a few hundred yards from the church, down the hillside towards Golcar.

Church deacon Ronnie Dodd said: "Everyone at the church is very grateful and extremely appreciative of all the hard work Gerry and Alan have put in over the last five years.

"They have transformed the graveyard."