A grieving couple have finally placed a headstone on their daughter’s grave after a council rejected the Eeyore design – because it was BLUE.
Keith and Emma Hampson lost their baby girl, Evelyn Barbara, in January and decided to create a Disney design for her headstone.
But the couple’s headstone request, which featured children’s character Eeyore, was rejected by council officials on the grounds it was not in keeping with the other headstones.
The decision was reversed following a public backlash which resulted in a petition receiving more than 2,00 signatures in just 24 hours.
Now the headstone has finally been placed on Evelyn’s grave, eight months after her death.
Keith said: “It is a shame that we had to fight for it at a time in our lives when we wanted to grieve a little bit.
“I am just pleased that we managed to get the decision reversed.
“We have always liked Disney and we wanted something that would represent a child.”
“I did not want a black and morbid headstone. We wanted something a bit more child friendly. We wanted it to be a celebration area rather than a place where we go to be upset.”
Keith and Emma received the devastating news that their daughter had no heartbeat on January 23 when Emma was 37-weeks pregnant.
Emma delivered stillborn Evelyn three days later at Bassetlaw Hospital, Notts., and Keith and Emma were able to spend the next 48 hours with her before laying her to rest at nearby Harworth Cemetery.
The couple, of Bircotes, Notts., who also have another daughter called Scarlett, designed her headstone at Doncaster Memorials, but Harworth and Bircotes Town Council rejected the design due to the ‘bright blue stonework’ and ‘coloured lettering’.
They received the news their plans for their daughter’s headstone had been approved in March after another council meeting.
The family have now decided to do something special in Evelyn’s memory by raising funds so that a bereavement room can be set-up at Bassetlaw Hospital for stillborn babies.
“We wanted to do something positive,” Keith said.
“We got a lot of support from the public who got behind us, we are really pleased about that.”
“We would like to thank councillor Dave Challinor and his wife Denise for the help with fundraising events and the support they have given us over the last few months.”
Keith added: “There are a lot of people that do suffer in silence. We are coping alright. We have our bad days but they can be expected.”
Earlier this year a spokesman for Harworth and Bircotes Town Council said that upon receiving the application from the monumental stonemasons, it was considered such an ‘unusual design’ that it had to be referred to the council for consideration.
“Council initially felt that the monument was not in keeping with the headstones already in the cemetery, for a number of reasons including the bright blue stonework and coloured lettering,” the spokesman said.
“As part of the decision making process the town council consulted with three other Nottinghamshire town council’s, all of whom confirmed that the design of the headstone would not be acceptable to their burial authorities.
“We appreciate that this has been a very difficult time for the Hampson family and hope that now this issue has been resolved, the family can continue to come to terms with their loss,” the spokesman added.
