Ken Hawthorne, 65, spent £1,500 on creating a memorial for his wife, Eve, in Catherington Cemetery after she died in January.

The 63 year-old died at The Rowans Hospice after a six-month battle with liver cancer. Her dying wish of her husband, of Admiralty Tower, Portsmouth, was that people would not walk over her grave as she felt it was disrespectful.

So Mr Hawthorne put an eight-inch metal surround around it which he has now been told by East Hampshire District Council is a health hazard.

He said: 'Eve and I went through it at great length and she did not want people walking over her grave. She had a real phobia about it, she was very particular about things.

'The council are saying they need to be able to mow the grass easily and this gets in the way but I've sat and watched the bloke take about 20 seconds to go round it easily enough.

'All this bureaucracy is so frustrating. I just feel now that after months of meetings I've been backed into a corner.'

When Mr Hawthorne was first given the grave, he signed a copy of the cemetery regulations that stated no kerbing of any sort is allowed. But the grandfather, who previously lived with his wife in Mill Lane, Bedhampton, said he was too grief-stricken to take it all in.

He is now negotiating whether to change the fencing but said he feels like he has been forced to.

'I was devoted to my wife,' said Mr Hawthorne. 'I just want to carry out her wishes.

'She was a lovely person and we had been married 46 years. I miss her badly.'

Stuart Wedgbury, Environmental Protection Manager, said the fence was banned because:

It was difficult to maintain for grass cutters.

It could cause elderly or infirm people to trip.

Adjacent burial plots would be difficult to re-open.

Loose gravel or stone chippings could be dangerous when using a strimmer.

He added: 'As a local authority we are responsible for the maintenance of the cemetery on behalf of all residents and for ensuring that it is a safe place for the public to visit. However, we are keenly aware of the sensitivities in this area of work and work hard to achieve negotiated resolutions to these types of problems.'