THE Bendigo Cemetery has become one of the city’s most popular spots for Pokémon Go users, but cemetery volunteers are frustrated at players showing a “lack of respect” at the site.

Volunteers have reported players sitting on cemetery monuments, walking on graves and inadvertently disrupting mourners at the Quarry Hill cemetery, which is home to at least 20 “Pokéstops” and gyms – more than anywhere else in Bendigo.

The game chooses landmarks on a map at random to turn into the hot spots, offering items to players and giving them opportunity to “battle” each other.

Since its release last week, groups of up to 30 people regularly arrive at the cemetery at all hours.

Remembrance Parks Central Victoria chief executive officer Graham Fountain said they did not want to be the “fun police”, but people needed to remain respectful while in a cemetery.

“We encourage people to be active, and the game has certainly achieved that,” he said.

“The issue we have is that people might not be playing it safely, that they are crawling and climbing on monuments.

“There could be people here mourning, and we certainly don’t want players being disrespectful.”

Cemetery volunteers assist families and visiting groups, while maintaining historical records.

The cemetery has rarely seen such a large amount of foot traffic, particularly from the 15 to 25 demographic, and almost certainly not in the middle of the night, Mr Fountain said.

He said players could learn a few things about local history while they visited the site.

“We encourage them to explore the cemetery. If young people can educate themselves at the same time, then I think it could be a positive thing,” Mr Fountain said.

Matt Dole, who lives nearby, was one of the many making the most of the Pokéstops in the cemetery on Wednesday afternoon.

He said it was not necessary to walk on the graves or climb on the tombstones.

“You can just stick to the path and you’ll still be able to catch them,” Mr Dole said.

“I have seen people walk over the graves while I’ve been here. I was here at 12.30am one night and you still see people around playing Pokémon.”

The game continues to increase in popularity in Bendigo, boasting more than 2300 users on a local Facebook page just a week after its launch.