No parent should have to bury a child. And no mother should have to bury their child. It is just not in the natural order of things. But sadly, this happens in real life and mothers just have to learn how to deal with eternal pain and grief.

That’s why when 4-year-old Maximus “Max” Corbett-Gardener passed away after battling with the complications from severe epilepsy, his 42-year-old mom, Jo Corbett-Weeks, saved up money to have a specially-designed headstone only for Max.

The headstone has a teddy bear holding a star design as a tribute to Max. After saving up, she spent $4,580 for that headstone to be placed on her son’s final resting place at the Great Malvern Cemetery in Worcestershire. His memorial was close to their other family members who have passed away.

However, the council chief decided to remove the star-shaped headstone placed on Max’s grave. And when Jo learned about this, she was outraged. She could not believe that someone from another family complained that the star-shaped headstone was not “in keeping” with the rest of the headstones in that part of the cemetery.

That headstone was supposed to be a heartfelt memorial to commemorate Max’s 7th birthday. But three days later, it was removed.

During her interview with BBC, Jo said, “It would have been Max’s seventh birthday on Sunday, and this was like a birthday present to him from me. I chose a star-shaped stone because I wanted something suitable for Max – something personal… This stone is just so perfect for my poor little chap.”

It seemed like someone complained at the Malvern Town Council. To grant this request, the headstone was removed without confirming Jo. She said that she would never give any consent for its removal. That is why she was demanding for it to be returned where it belonged – to little Max’s grave.

She explained, “I was totally unaware this was going on. The council did not contact me and it was the stonemason who told me he’d been ordered to remove it. I feel upset, distressed and angry. We have been through so much as a family. I could understand if the grave was uncared for or unsightly, but it isn’t. The headstone meant a lot to me and the family but now we are fighting to have it put back. It’s a horrible situation. We just want to have somewhere to grieve.”

For the councils’ defence, they said that they did not receive the application for the headstone within the required timeframe. If they did, they would not have allowed for it to be installed in the first place. They also added that Max’s grave was at the adults’ area and if the star-shaped headstone was installed at the children’s area, it would not have caused a problem.

A Malvern Town Council explained to BBC that they have guidelines when it comes to the shapes on their lawn cemetery. They felt that it was a very difficult decision for them to make but this is something that they had to do. The council explained that happened because they want everyone to follow the protocol.

The council arranged a meeting with the Corbett-Weeks family to discuss allowed headstone design that they can put on Max’s resting place.