The Tenby Sea Cadet unit has responded to recent criticism over the state of the town's Old Cemetery, which they play a part in maintaining.

A recent letter to Tenby Town Council from Mr. Les Nixon, a resident of Llanddewi Velfrey, stated that he had attended the cemetery back in January and was appalled by the overall condition of the burial grounds, which he believed showed disrespect to British and Commonwealth casualties in two worlds wars.

Explaining the background in relation to the Commonwealth War Graves in Tenby's (St. Mary's Church) Old Cemetery to councillors, the town clerk, Mr. Andrew Davies, said that the town council entered into a maintenance agreement back in 1983 with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to tend 15 of the 34 war graves situated in the burial grounds, but the Commission currently records the remaining 19 war graves as maintained by relatives, which had led to some confusion over who was responsible for part of the maintenance upkeep.

The town council received further correspondence on the matter at their meeting last week from Lt. Roy Broxham, of the Tenby Sea Cadet unit, who praised the hard work that the cadets had put in over the past two years in helping maintain the old cemetery.

"Mr. Les Nixon's comments are belittling to the hard work the cadets and staff have put in over this time, cutting pathways to all the graves, whether War Graves Commission or private, even finding a memorial to an RNVR officer lost at sea, a soldier who died in the Boer War, and the grave of a soldier who died following the Crimea War," wrote Lt Broxham.

"The cadets and staff undertake the work without normally shouting about the project and with the assistance of Clr. Mrs. Sue Lane, put a Remembrance cross on all the graves each November.

"I would like to make it known that there is a group of people in Tenby that do care and respect what people gave for us all," he added.

The town council have contacted the Parochial Church Council to hold a site meeting at the old cemetery to consider what can be done to improve the situation there.