A 16-year campaign to save a neglected cemetery in Bristol has finally been won.

Bristol City Council has at long last taken possession of the 45-acre Arnos Vale Cemetery from the Bristol General Cemetery Company, which was run by businessman Tony Towner.

The Evening Post helped the campaign back in April 1998, by launching the Arnos Vale Army - a willing band of volunteers who ensured the cemetery stayed open each day after an announcement by Mr Towner's company that it could no longer afford to run the graveyard.

The paper paid for lawyers to represent the volunteers after writs were served against them for trespass. The case was thrown out by a judge.

The council has already set up a charitable trust which will manage the multi-million pound restoration project for the beleaguered graveyard, which is bristling with listed buildings and monuments that have been crumbling for years.

Work has already begun to remove dangerous trees and repair a crumbling wall. The council has set aside £2m towards the cost of the restoration programme which hopes to win a further £3m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Post editor Mike Lowe said: "We are delighted that this important milestone in the history of the cemetery has been achieved at long last.

"It could never have been done without a never-say-die spirit and sheer hard work by a band of people who never lost sight of the importance of the cemetery.

"We were only too pleased to play our part in this success story."

Richard Smith, chairman of the Friends of Arnos Vale, said: "We have waited a long time for this to happen and now we are in sight of our goal - to improve and enhance the buildings and landscape of the cemetery - and save this very special jewel in Bristol's historic crown for the people of Bristol and the wider world."

The ownership battle included lengthy compulsory purchase order proceedings that were eventually won after a final legal challenge in London was thrown out four months ago.

Once the restoration project is finished, the Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust will be granted a 125-year lease of the site at a peppercorn rent.

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