Desperate tennis fans with nowhere to park for the Wimbledon tournament are paying £20 to leave their cars on graves in a nearby churchyard. St Mary's Church in Wimbledon Village is offering spectators parking spots on consecrated ground for £20 a day, directly above the remains of parishioners.
The proceeds of the unofficial parking scheme go to charity but some residents are angry with the plan, describing it as 'disrespectful'.
In previous years cars have been restricted to the adjacent field.
One resident, Tim Brown, 38, said it was completely 'out of order'.
'The expression to feel like someone's walked over your grave - well imagine a 4x4 parked over your grave.
'I think it's disrespectful to people who have family buried there. I noticed it the other day when I was walking past, about six or seven cars parked there.
'There's plenty of parking elsewhere for tennis-goers, Wimbledon make absolutely loads more parking available during the tennis.'
Walking all over: In previous years the church has had cars park only in an adjacent field, but with record crowds at Wimbledon, vehicles as big as a four-wheel drive spilled on to the graveyard
Mr Brown said people were simply too lazy to walk the extra five miles to the courts.
'Graveyards and churches are just places where you have a bit of respect for the dead - and these people clearly don't have that,' he said.
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