A WAGGA father is struggling to help his young children understand why they cannot leave toys on the grave of their brother, after Wagga City Council sent the family a letter saying it would remove all non-standard items from graves at the city's lawn cemetery.The family was one of a number sent a letter by council advising that from August 1 cemetery staff would remove and dispose of all non-standard containers, statues, figurines and toys which have been placed on graves, in accordance with its Wagga Cemeteries Policy.For David Rutland and his wife Leanne, who have a child and Leanne's parents and brother buried at the cemetery, the thought of removing personal items from the graves of their loved ones is like “a kick in the guts”.“(The cemetery) is somewhere for the kids to go and visit their little brother and put flowers and toys on his grave,” Mr Rutland said.“It is part of the grieving process.“I would like to take my kids into council and ask them to explain why they can’t leave things for their little brother because they don’t understand.”Mr Rutland said that by placing toys, flowers and figurines on the graves of loved ones, his family had been able to cope with their deaths and remember all the things they loved to do.He felt the task of removing those items would open “a lot of wounds for people”, who viewed visiting the cemetery to leave gifts as part of the healing process.“If you have got to take that stuff away it’s like you have got to suck it up that they are dead,” he said.Council environmental and community services director Janice Summerhayes said while council understood and respected people wanted to leave gifts for loved ones, council was only enforcing a state-wide policy which had been in place for some time.She said council was enforcing the policy to create a safer environment for visitors and cemetery staff when preparing graves, mowing, edging and carrying out general maintenance.“While I acknowledge these personal circumstances, really our aim is safety for everyone,” Ms Summerhayes said.