Tombstones dating back to the 17th century were discovered during a clear-up of overgrown church gardens.

About 30 of the stones, mostly 'box tomb' lids, were found stood vertically beneath a large overgrowth of trees and ivy on the north side of All Saints' Church during a recent clear-up by the Friends of Darfield Churchyard.

Most date back to the 18th century, with some reaching into the early 19th century and two from the tail end of the 17th century. These belonged to Robert Day, of Little Houghton, who died aged 66 on November 24, 1699 and Grace, wife of Richard Birks, of Wombwell, who died aged 52 on December 3, 1699.

They have now been laid as paving stones on the north side with pebbles.

The Friends began clearing the area due to issues with damp on the church's north wing, which involved installing new 'French drains' and clearing the decades of overgrown grass, trees and ivy in the area.

The undergrowth was so thick, the Friends and workmen from the Community Payback programme were able to cut tunnels through the foliage, inside which they found the stack of tombstones.

Member John Kendall, who with Trevor Blackburn and Mike Smith was one of the architects of the project, said he had no idea they would be so old.

He said: "We knew there would be some old ones but we weren't expecting them to go as far back as 1699. They got there because, in the early 1970s, an area of the churchyard was cleared as part of an agreement between the church and the local authority in which the council would cut the grass.

"There were a lot of old box tombs in that area and, whether they ran out of money or time, they decided to dump about 30 of the lids in a stack by the side of the church and the rest of the 'boxes' were disposed of. Over time that area became overgrown and they were forgotten about."

The stones can be seen during the day on the left hand side of the church as one approaches through the gates.