About 100,000 headstones are to be tested for stability to reduce safety risks to visitors.

Thanet District Council is carrying out the inspections over five years, as part of its remit laid down by national legislation and Ministry of Justice guidance.

They will take place at The Garden of Rest at Thanet Crematorium and St John’s Cemetery, both in Manston Road, Margate, starting early next month.

Headstones that fail the test will be banded to a wooden post, where possible, to prevent them from falling and causing further damage.

If this is not possible, the headstone will be laid flat in the grave space by a qualified stonemason.

For all memorials failing the inspection, a notice will be placed on it and contact details given for the cemeteries and crematorium office.

The council has a responsibility to test and secure any failed structures at its own cost, although, for those that are made safe, if the family wish to reinstate, then there may be a charge.

But it has also warned if someone chooses not to repair a stone tribute and it cannot be laid flat because it would cause a trip hazard, it could ultimately be removed.

For those cemeteries where Thanet District Council holds the exclusive right of burial registers, letters are also sent to the last recorded owner.

"We understand the sensitivity and will carry out the works sympathetically" - Thanet Council

Several churchyards will see some stonemasonry reinspected after earlier tests.

These are at St George’s Churchyard, Church Hill, Ramsgate, Minster Churchyard in Church Street, Minster, St John’s in High Street, Margate, Birchington Churchyard, Station Road and St Nicholas Churchyard, in The Street.

A council spokesman said: “We understand the sensitivity and will carry out the works sympathetically.

“All staff taking part in the programme have completed training and work very closely with the church councils to ensure minimal disturbance to the location and wildlife.”

Last year the authority was criticised by relatives of the deceased after five headstones were apparently damaged by Thanet council workers at All Saints’ Church in Birchington.

The council said it had carried out the work to national guidelines.

Margaret Vickery, vice chairman of the parochial church council at St John the Baptist church in Margate, said: “The headstones and memorials represent some really important people in the town and it’s good to know that they are being looked after but it is also thinking of the public in making sure the headstones are safe.”

• For more information at https://tinyurl.com/thanmemtest