A WIDOW who cannot be buried with her husband because three stillborn babies are in her space is furious - after her new plot was opened up without her permission.

Gail Williams, pictured, whose husband Glyndwr's grave was affected by Newport's St Woolos Cemetery graves scandal, has discovered that the plot now set aside for her was dug up without her knowledge or permission.

Mrs Williams said: "I had the biggest shock of my life. I've really had enough now."

The Argus revealed in March that there had been a number of bodies buried in the wrong graves in plots 99 and 101 of the cemetery between 1979 and 1981.

And Mrs Williams told how:

* When she went to bury her husband with his first wife, she was not under the headstone.

* When they found Mr Williams' first wife she was buried with three stillborn babies.

* After Mr Williams was buried with his first wife, there was no room in the plot for his second wife to be buried with him.

Mrs Williams was able to buy the plot next to her husband, but last weekend discovered, "they opened my grave without permission and without my knowledge".

She said she had asked for a 'satellite navigation' of her husband's grave - a scientific test which meant they would not need to open it - to confirm that both he and his first wife are in there.

"I told them that when they came to do the satellite navigation the family were to be informed and we wanted to be in attendance to confirm with our own eyes who was in there," she said.

"I've been fighting to keep that grave closed and now somebody has gone over my head and opened mine. The graves belong to me.

"They didn't know for certain there was nobody down there. If they were sure they wouldn't have opened it.

"It made me feel sick to the stomach. I'm absolutely appalled.

"I basically lived up the cemetery last year when I buried my husband, and I'm still living up there now because I'm frightened what's going to happen next."

A spokeswoman for Newport council said: "The council has recently examined the grave plot reserved for Mrs Williams to check it and enable us to give her our assurance that it is empty.

"We were not aware that she had requested to be present while this work was carried out. If she would like to be present, then we can arrange to carry out the examination again.

"We would like to apologise if this caused any distress to Mrs Williams."