GRAVE CONCERNS
Spat over extravagant grave for ‘Traveller King’ Willy Collins STILL not resolved – as council says it breaks the rules
A BITTER spat between a council and "Traveller King's" family over his extravagant grave is still dragging out years after he died.
Willy Collins' grieving family installed one of the UK's biggest headstones in the dad-of-nine's memory after he died suddenly three years ago.
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The monument is said to weigh a whopping 37 tonnes, have a solar-powered duke box playing his favourite tunes, and be made of solid Carrara marble.
It also features life-sized statues of Big Willy's 6ft 2in frame and four flagpoles, as well as depictions of Jesus Christ and biblical scenes.
Willy was known as the "King of Sheffield" and his family were sure to create a memorial 'fit for a king' - but the council turned around and said the grave broke its rules.
This saw the family hire a security guard to monitor the colossal shrine, with Willy's widow threatening "very bad riots" if the council touched it.
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The massive private plot was unveiled in March last year after the 49-year-old died when he collapsed on holiday in Majorca in July 2020.
But the Sheffield Council quickly said Willy's family may have to rip the memorial down as they did not have permission to create it.
And today the bitter spat is ongoing.
Willy's traveller family claim they were granted permission by the council, but the authority have said otherwise.
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The Sheffield Council says the grave is too big, and the pre-agreed dimensions had been breached.
It told the grave initially got the go-ahead on the understanding it would be under 4ft 6ins in height.
The council said extras were added to the memorial by a different person who originally put throw the application to erect the massive grave.
The council said: “Having spoken to the memorial mason regarding the construction they only erected what they had been given a permit to do.
"They took photographs of the completed work, they freely admitted that they supplied to an unnamed memorial mason the rest of the items on the grave that do not have SCC approval but did not fit them.”
I do not understand why they would take against this tribute to my father.
Mary
Last year, when the council first said the grave didn't meet its rules, Willy's family hired a security guard and put CCTV cameras up, too.
One of his nine children, daughter Mary, told The Sun: "I do not understand why they would take against this tribute to my father.
"Any attempt to have us take this down would be fought legally as it would be a blatant matter of racism."
She continued: "It’s not even the tallest monument in the cemetery. There is one to the first Bishop of Sheffield that is taller than this."
One of 16 children, Willy was the patriarch of the Collins family and had around 400 nieces and nephews.
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One of his nieces, Nan Maughan, 26, said: "My uncle should be allowed to rest in peace not have people arguing over his final resting place. It is totally disrespectful.
"It would be absolutely outrageous if the family were asked to take it down. It is a beautiful tribute to a beautiful man."
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