PEEBLES Community Council is pressing forward with proposals to improve the children’s cemetery in the town.

The small enclosed section of Peebles Cemetery is said to be covered in bird droppings and is dark and gloomy due to overgrown Cherry Trees.

Bereaved parents Elisa and Scott Mackie, who lost their twins at 21 weeks and laid them to rest in the cemetery, agreed with the community council that is wasn’t a pleasant place to visit and reflect.

Elisa mooted the idea of a metal sculpture, similar to the SiMBA Trees where each parent is given a copper leaf to add to the tree in remembrance of their baby or child.

Despite this proposal being welcomed, plans ground to a halt after Scottish Borders Council received a complaint about the Cherry Trees being felled.

Chairman of the town’s community council Les Turnbull, is keen to drive forward plans and is hoping for community support.

He said: “I think we’ve got to a stage where we’ve done quite a lot of consultation. We know there are one or two people who are not happy about the removal of the trees. But equally, many more people want to see the cemetery improved.

“I’m proposing that we try and come up with a cohesive plan for the cemetery that may include a sculpture and flowerbeds, as Bonnie Peebles Plus have offered to look after those.

"If we have a plan we can then go back to the public and say this is what we would like to do for the benefit of those who have babies interred in the cemetery.

“We’ve reached an impasse and we need to try and move on and come up with a plan for people to comment on.”