THE curators of a Cotswold graveyard are seeking to preserve the memory of two teenage boys who died in a Boxing Day skating accident 180 years ago.

James Joiner, 16, and his friend Charles Pugh, 15, were skating across the large pond in Sarsden near Chipping Norton on December 26, 1822, when the ice broke and they plunged to their deaths in the freezing cold water.

Now the curators of Churchill graveyard, where the two boys are buried, want to restore their weather-worn headstone so that their tragic tale and its warning to others can be read by future generations.

Alan Watkins, a member of the churchyard preservation society, has taken a particular interest in the headstone, which reads: Sacred to the memory of JAMES JOINER and CHARLES PUGH the one aged 16 and the other 15 years. On the 26th Dec 1822 as they were sliding across the large pond at Sarsden upon the ice it suddenly broke under them and they sank to rise no more. Their youthful innocence and the mercy of Christ is the comfort of their afflicted parents "God's will be done! but if twas done that ye the young and thoughtless might your warning see. Then mark it well: You live in fragile clay Eternity's beneath - Repent today."

Mr Watkins said: "Up to 15 years ago it was quite readable but it's showing signs of age.

"You can just read it now if you catch it at the right angle in the right light. It was a sad story and ought to be remembered."

The churchyard curators have applied to the Diocese of Oxford for a faculty to remove the headstone have it cleaned and re-lettered at a cost of around £1,500.

It will be paid for out of donations and preservation society funds.

Mr Watkins has also published an official notice asking anyone who objects to the removal to contact him on 01608 658489.

He is not aware of any descendants of the dead boys still living in the area but added: "There are people round here named Joiner but whether they have any connection or not I don't know."

The pond in which the boys drowned was part of a series of ponds used for breeding carp for the table at Sarsden House.

"The pond was emptied to get the bodies out and has only been filled up in recent years," said Mr Watkins.