Memorial pieces left on the graves of beloved family members were dumped on a bench after they were banned by a Chislehurst cemetery.
Molly Elizabeth Eley, 22, laid the ashes of 67-year-old gran, Lesley Haddock, to rest in Kemnal Park alongside her grandad last October after she died from a stroke.
The family has had “nothing but aggravation” since, battling with staff over what they can and cannot place on their plot.
On Sunday, Ms Eley arrived to find a pile of memorial pieces scattered randomly around a bench.
Ms Eley, a Greenwich-based gas industry worker, said: “It is absolutely disgusting behaviour.
“I really cannot believe how they think it is okay to collectively throw a person’s belongings on the floor and not contact anyone to let them know.”
The cemetery is run by GreenAcres Group, which describes itself as the “leading cemetery and ceremonial service provider in the UK.”
At Kemnal Park they offer burial, cremation, and memorial services.
Ms Eley says the family were originally told they were not allowed to place flowers, vases, memorial pieces, lanterns or even named plaques on their plot.
After they pointed out that none of this was mentioned when they originally discussed the plot, the cemetery referred them to the terms and conditions.
The family managed to convince staff to “accept” flowers and plaques, which had been bought directly from the cemetery, agreeing to remove other items.
Before they could do so, the sentimental items had already been discarded.
A spokesperson for GreenAcres said: "We are sad about this recent situation and sincerely apologise for the upset that this has caused some families that use our Parks.
"We are a caring company and really try hard to support our local and diverse community.
"Many people choose GreenAcres Kemnal Park because we provide a tranquil and caring environment for reflection.
"Supporting our families is at the heart of everything we do. The natural beauty of our Park is one of the reasons that many families choose GreenAcres.
"To protect this, we do ask that all visitors abide by a few regulations regarding placing personal items on graves, ash plots or communal areas.
"We have clear guidelines on our process around prohibited items, which are shared with all plot owners.
"In addition to signage around the Park. We will look again at our processes and see how we can talk to our community to understand how we can avoid this situation in the future.
"Different people have different views, many families thank us for the way the Park is kept.
"From time to time as part of our ongoing garden maintenance, our team are required to remove prohibited items from the flower bed areas.
"We understand that the recent clearing of items has caused some distress, and for this we sincerely apologise – it was not our intention.
"Talking to our families, we understand that there is a lot of information that they need to retain when funeral arrangements are made, and detailed guidelines can be difficult to remember.
"We also understand that not every visitor to our Park is the plot owner and may not be aware of our guidelines around items.
"Our approach to this will be reconsidered, along with in-put from our community. ]
"We work hard to support all our families and visitors, and as an additional measure we will soon introduce a Keeper’s Lodge at Kemnal Park, where prohibited items will be safely stored for collection."
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