Wind chimes hung near loved ones' graves at a cemetery are to be banned after complaints that they sound too eerie.

Arun Council officers say people have objected to the dozens of chimes hanging above graves at Chalcraft Lane cemetery, Bognor.

Head of parks Roger Parsons said some people had even refused to purchase a final resting place for themselves or relatives because of the chimes.

The council has now told people to remove their chimes by February 12. Any left after the deadline will be taken down and kept at Bognor Town Hall.

Tracey Embleton, 30, who yesterday braved the cold to tend the grave of her mother Edna Whiting, who died last May, said: "I just can't believe it."

She has placed three wind chimes in a tree above the grave and said she had never received a complaint.

She said: "My mum used to walk around here with me and always said how much she liked the wind chimes which, is why we put them up.

"It really is a bad decision. I don't think they are eerie and they make a nice sound."

Patricia Curtis, whose son Craig is buried at the cemetery, said she felt so strongly she might start a petition.

Craig, a 14 year-old pupil at Bognor Regis Community College, was killed almost three years ago in a car accident.

Mrs Curtis of Aldwick Felds, Bognor, said the family had put an angel wind chime over Craig's grave.

She said: "I think it is appalling and I feel really incensed over this. Wind chimes bring a little bit of comfort to people."

Arun cemeteries officer Sheila Barry said: "The number of chimes has just gone over the top now and we have to do something about it.

"It's not very good when you're taking a funeral and you get a high wind and all those things are clanging away. A lot of people don't like them and have been asking why we allow them.

"It started off with just a few, which was OK, but now it has got out of hand. The trees are covered with them. There are so many now it's making the cemetery look tatty.

"I don't go in there when it's dark and we have had several complaints. It's not that I'm afraid - it's just a bit eerie."