Boy, ten, who cleans graves in spare time told to stop by cruel council bosses for ‘breaking the law’

A kind-hearted boy, who cleans graves in his spare time, was told to stop by cruel council bosses who thought he was breaking the law.

Ben Weldon came up with the idea after tending to his grandmother’s headstone.

The 10-year-old set up his business in his hometown and donated 10% to charity.

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But pen-pushers found out and his mum, Michelle, said she got a call from the council telling him to put a halt to it.

She claims she was told she and his dad, David, could face prosecution because of his age.

Michelle, 46, of Long Eaton, Derbs, said: “I was completely shocked.”

She claimed: “The man was deadly serious saying Ben was too young and was breaking the law.

“He stated employment rules and regulations and was adamant Ben couldn’t earn money.

“I was left furious.

“The feedback has been incredible with so many people saying what a lovely thing Ben was doing.”

She also told What’s The Jam: “In these days when all you hear is how badly kids behave and are stuck on their phones, you’d think the council would encourage him.

“But this seems to be bureaucracy gone mad.

“I’ve been through all the emotions, but what’s the difference between this and kids washing cars or cutting lawns?”

Schoolboy Ben has had over 50 enquiries from people asking him to clean the graves.

His parents set up a Facebook page for Ben called Guardians of the Headstones.

His 10% donation goes to Stevie Stones – which helps struggling families get headstones for their children.

Derbyshire County Council has now performed a U-turn.

A council spokesperson said: “We have a duty to ensure the safety of children and young people who are employed.

“So when we became aware that Ben, who is under the age of 13, was working cleaning graves we were of course duty-bound to look into this.

“However we’ve now established that he has in fact set up his own small business working for himself, under the supervision of his parents, so this does not fall under child employment laws and we have explained this to his mum.

“We wish Ben all the best for the future success of his business.”

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