Mass grave in Oldham was one of tens of thousands across country

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

The discovery of a mass grave containing the bodies of almost 300 stillborn babies in Royton shook Greater Manchester earlier this year.

But new data has revealed the site is tragically one among thousands of similar grave sites across England. More than 89,000 stillborn children were buried in communal burial ground across the country, an FOI has revealed.

Of 314 councils only 45 were able to provide data as many of the records are hand-written in ledgers, meaning the actual figure could be much larger. READ NEXT: Tesco to appear before coroner's court after man, 48, dies in horror incident on petrol station forecourt The practice was common up until the late 1980s, with parents often kept in the dark and told their loved ones would be buried ‘with a nice person’ in an adult grave.

Christine, sister to baby Joyce, who passed away two days after birth and was buried in a communal grave in Greenacres Cemetery, responded to the news: “I’m absolutely astonished that it was so widespread and that there are so many other families like ourselves that were misinformed.