Instead, the local authority has issued a plea for children and their parents not to use any of its 140 cemeteries and churchyards as playgrounds or shortcuts.

It follows a suggestion from Selkirkshire councillor Kenneth Gunn that the family of the injured youth should pay for the cost, incurred by SBC, of removing or repairing the railings following the incident in Brierylaw Cemetery on April 14.

“This was hallowed ground and the boy and his friends should simply not have been there,” said Mr Gunn.

“Townsfolk are alarmed and concerned that the taxpayer should have to pick up the tab,” he added.

Connor McCurdy, 15, is expected to make a full recovery from injuries sustained when he climbed onto the railings, surrounding an old lair, in order to scale a boundary wall. He and his pals had been using a popular shortcut to get to Thirlestane Terrace.

He toppled backwards and was impaled on the rusty spikes, one of which went straight through his thigh. He was later freed by the fire service, using non-vibrating hydraulic cutting equipment. At the time, Selkirk’s senior retained fire officer, John Munro, called for the railings to be removed, describing them as “an accident waiting to happen”.

SBC’s health and safety team launched an immediate probe, a spokesman confirming this week there is “normally little or no risk of injury to anyone using this cemetery”.

He went on: “This was an unfortunate event which would not have occurred if the injured person had not been climbing on the monument. As both gates to the cemetery are permanently open, there was no need for anyone to be climbing at all.

“It would not be practical, however, to remove such railings from our cemeteries just as it would not be practical to ask householders who use that type of railing as fencing to remove them.”

Robert Matheson, SBC’s bereavement officer, told theSouthern: “Our cemeteries and churchyards are intended to be peaceful places where people can lay their loved ones to rest and visit them to pay their respects.

“To that end, the council has now produced leaflets for local schools, stressing the fact that cemeteries are not playgrounds and should be treated with respect.”

Mr Matheson said several changes had been made to improve safety in cemeteries.

“We have introduced rules to limit the size of gravestones and memorials. In addition, we no longer allow fences or railings to surround graves.

“While the responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of gravestones and memorials rests with the families of the deceased, the council also takes reasonably-practicable steps to make these safe.”

Mr Matheson said the public needed to be aware of the dangers and take sensible steps, such as keeping away from gravestones, keeping to paths, not climbing on memorials or railings and not using cemeteries as places to play.