The Pope has been dragged into an ongoing row over a forgotten cemetery which has been reclaimed by drug gangs.
The overgrown Roman Catholic cemetery has been left untouched for nearly a century with the last recorded burial back in 1940.
But an historian has been left enraged after noticing the untended burial site in Eccles, Greater Manchester, was being invaded by drug dealers to ply their trade.
Curious about the small graveyard's past, history buff Craig Ellis began investigating who owned the site - only to discover it wasn't actually owned by anybody.
The 52-year-old said he had been digging for "months" to find out who the site belonged to, speaking to various church officials to find out more.
He discovered the 30 metre squared cemetery was once owned by a local wealthy family who owned swathes of land in the Greater Manchester area.
But the family eventually handed over the deeds to the land to the church, the papers for which were never completed, meaning it is currently a no-man's land.
Despite this, the remains of entire families and clergy members have been laid to rest at the graveyard over the centuries, and IT consultant Craig has now written to Pope Francis in a bid to make sure the site is brought back into safe hands.
“I’m astonished that no one seems to want to take responsibility for this graveyard," Mr Ellis told the BBC's Local Democracy service.
"There are priests and entire families buried there. It’s very sad.
"I’ve exhausted every avenue I can to try to get something done, and the only person I can think of who might be able to step in is Pope Francis, so I am writing to him."
"We have now checked the land and it is unregistered, so it definitely doesn’t belong to [the local diocese]," he added.
Mr Ellis is worried that, alongside the rising problem with drug dealers, the overgrown state of the cemetery could pose a risk to surrounding neighbours and pedestrians.
"There are overgrown trees and the perimeter wall, which is eight feet high, doesn’t seem safe, with the roots pushing the brickwork out," he said.
"It could easily fall onto a passing pedestrian [on Peel Green Road]."
While the head of the Catholic Church is now embroiled in the battle, Mr Ellis is hoping Salford City Council will reclaim control of the land and temporarily close it off for some TLC.
Salford councillor Barbara Bentham said the matter was being raised with local Roman Catholic officials, who she said remained "legally responsible" for the cemetery's upkeep.
"Salford city council has no legal authority to bar access to this public cemetery or to carry out work on this land," she said.
"But we will raise concerns about illegal activities with Greater Manchester Police for investigation.
"Our building control officer inspected the perimeter wall again on March 21 and is satisfied that it was not in a dangerous condition at that time."
