War memorials flattened under controversial safety testing may be reinstated by the council which sanctioned the toppling.

They were among more than 600 headstones levelled at cemeteries in Lewes and Seaford by contractors for Lewes District Council in an act which triggered uproar among relatives.

A sub-committee set up to review the testing of memorials last night agreed to carry a recommendation to reinstate the war memorials.

Families of relatives whose headstones were toppled heard burial experts criticise the way some were levelled.

David Francis, of the National Association of Memorial Masons (Namm), said smaller memorials should not have been laid flat as they posed little risk.

He criticised the laying of some on flat timber instead of rolled timber, adding that those damaged by the testing should be reinstated.

He said: "A memorial is not just a marker but somewhere where people go to grieve. People own these things. We must show respect."

Sub-committee chairman, Councillor Eddie Collict, said: "We have to get things right. This is a very emotive subject and one which we know has caused anxiety and distress."

Also carried were plans to pay a 100 per cent grant for the reinstatement of memorials that failed the tests, provided the owner comes forward within six months.

In addition, the sub-committee called for the appointment of an adjudicator from the Namm to review each memorial tested.

If it was concluded excessive force was used, the council would agree to pay whatever proportion of the cost of reinstatement the adjudicator recommends.

Another of the six recommendations carried proposed relatives struggling to meet the costs of restoring a memorial could apply to a hardship fund for help.

In cases where a memorial owner cannot be traced within six months, the council would arrange a contract with a memorial mason to reinstate it.

The recommendations will go forward to the district council's Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

The seminar, at Corsica Hall in Cricketfield Road, Seaford, heard calls for the introduction of a British standard for memorial fixing.

Tim Morris, of the Institute of Burial and Cremation Authorities, demanded an accredited list of memorial makers to remove the "rogues" within the industry.

Council officers told the 30-strong gathering that 43 complaints over the fiasco had been made against the council.

They said the safety testing was introduced at their cemeteries following the death of a six-year-old child who was crushed by a headstone in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.