CHURCH officials are seeking out relatives of the deceased encased in a crypt at a Crewe graveyard.

During the late summer's bad weather a sink hole emerged at St. Michael and All Angels Church in Crewe Green which led to the discovery of the Victorian tomb which had housed the bodies of seven adults and three children.

The church has been advised by the Diocesan Advisory Committee they had to "take every reasonable steps to identify and notify the heirs or successors of any persons interred" and have issued an appeal for relatives to get in touch.

The inscriptions on the crypt indicate it was last opened in 1920 and housed the remains of the Edwards family with the ages of the deceased suggesting there were two deaths of a mother an infant from childbirth.

Excavations established the crypt opened up when a stone toppled in the wet weather and since then work has been carried out to seal up the vault.

Church warden Ron Taylor said: "We found there had been a dig out to get the coffins into the vault and one of the stone boxes had fallen into the pit.

"We got an architect down and we filled the hole in. There was no disturbance whatsoever to the bodies and in fact no human remains were found.

"We had a new plinth put in underneath the headstone and it is sealed up now.

"But the problem is by law we have to notify any descendants."

The church is asking residents of villages near Crewe Green if they know of anyone who is a relative or knows of someone who may know a relative of those interred.

From the information taken on the headstone at the crypt entrance they are:

William Albert Edwards (died January 27, 1864, aged 26), Helen Flora Edwards (died November 6, 1919, aged 68), Arthur Baskerville Edwards (died August 21, 1920), aged 65, William Edwards (died August 13, 1866, aged 65), Ellen Edwards, wife (died November 10, 1901), aged 63,Thomas Henry Edwards (died March 1, 1913), aged 61, Victoria Mary Edwards (died December 11, 1913), aged 66.

Ron says, so far, he has fielded no calls, but if anyone can identify any relatives they should contact him on 01270 581310 or Haslington Parish Council at [email protected]