Complaints from families with relatives buried at a north-east cemetery has led to an operation to “humanely” control rabbits in the area – by gassing them.

Aberdeenshire Council is bringing in an experienced licensed specialist contractor to exterminate the rabbits at Inverurie’s Bass Cemetery.

The animals are burrowing beneath headstones and monuments and causing structural damage, with the possibility of the ground collapsing.

Landscape services principal officer Shirley Bruce said: “Clearly this is a last resort but the problem is getting out of control and we receive a lot of complaints.

“It is very upsetting for the recently bereaved to visit a family member soon after leaving flowers at their grave to see them destroyed.

“While this action won’t be popular with everyone, it’s vital that we do it for safety reasons.

“Some of the headstones could become unstable and could cause significant injury or worse should they fall.

“We’ve chosen to take this particular approach because it is known to be highly effective and we want to have a significant impact on the rabbit population as humanely as possible.”

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The exterminator will be using aluminium phosphide tablets, a fast-acting poisonous gas and then sealing the rabbit holes.

While the extermination is under way the cemetery will be closed, with the gates locked for 48 hours from Tuesday and reopening again next Thursday.