THE Charles Causley Trust is taking ‘immediate steps’ to set up a rota of people to take care of the grave of the Launceston poet.

A resident of the town, Jane O’Mahoney, recently contacted the Post to share her concern of the condition of Causley’s grave, which is in St Thomas Churchyard.

She said of her walk through the churchyard a couple of weeks ago: “My grandson and I were walking through from the back gate down to the river. I was just reading the names as I went past the graves.

“I was startled to see Charles Causley’s grave in such an unkempt state, with an overturned jam-jar and weeds and grass covering it.”

While St Thomas Church and graveyard are the responsibility of the church, individual graves are the responsibility of the family.

A member of the Charles Causley Trust and St Thomas churchwarden Jane Nancarrow most recently tidied up Causley’s grave and his mother’s and placed flowers on both, before the Charles Causley Festival last month.

She said: “I have already suggested to the Causley Trust that we set up a rota, maybe one person a month to care for it. It is an issue I was already concerned about.

“It looks a bit neglected at the moment.”

She added the church pays for the churchyard to get cut, and stressed she is not the only person that tends to Causley’s grave. “I think a rota is the best way to go forward,” she said.

For the full report, and a round-up of the area news and sport, see this week’s edition of the Post.