"How on earth was this allowed to happen?": Community responds to horrific discovery

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Sadness swept across Oldham at the news a historic mass grave in Royton Cemetery contained the bodies of almost 300 babies and young children.

Hundreds of people expressed their sympathies with the relatives and shared stories of tracing their lost loved ones to communal graves with the Manchester Evening News.

Many said they were aware of the existence of ‘pauper graves’ at Oldham’s cemeteries, where homeless people and those who passed away in workhouses were historically buried.

But the presence of 145 stillborn babies and almost 130 babies and young children came as a grim shock. READ NEXT: 'We will make sure we don't go bankrupt', Oldham council finance boss insists The discovery was made by a Royton woman who was searching for the last resting place of her twin brothers, who passed away shortly after birth in 1962.