JUST a week away from Remembrance Day a memorial garden tended by a major supermarket chain commemorating the lives of workers that died in WWII has been labelled “disgusting” by a disgruntled resident.

The memorial garden, on the grounds of Tesco’s store in Baldock, commemorates workers of the former Kayser Bondor factory, which stood on the site, and is the responsibility of the supermarket chain to maintain.

Len Lucas, of Holyrod Crescent, said: “It’s absolutely disgusting it’s full of broken glass.

“When Tesco took over the site in the early 1980s it was a beautiful garden but over the years it has been allowed to decline.

“It is a shame that anything like this has been allowed to go to rack and ruin and Tesco say they will renovate it and it’s never done.

“There must be people in the town with memories of the garden, there must be a lot of old people who remember it.”

When the site was purchased by Tesco and developed into a supermarket the maintenance of the garden became their responsibility and North Hertfordshire District Council say because of this they have never worked on the site.

Mr Lucas said: “The gardens themselves are nothing but a rubbish tip at the moment with broken glass on the path ways around what has now become not a garden but a derelict weed patch.”

The Comet investigated Mr Lucas’ claim and we discovered that the plants in the garden had not been looked after and the site was littered with debris including a smashed vodka bottle.

Cllr Michael Weeks said that there are plans to put a path through the garden to link Tesco with the town centre.

He said: “That’s in limbo land because the plan is for Tesco to redevelop the path with the town.

“It’s to try and link the town centre and Tesco for the benefit of both.

“In the meanwhile I agree that it has got to be looked after and we’re hoping that our friends Tesco will do this.”

The Comet have raised the issue of maintaining the memorial gardens with Tesco and the supermarket said “We are currently looking into this”.