Family upset at muddy funeral

8:00am Wednesday 11th June 2008

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SAYING goodbye to a loved one is always upsetting but one Kington family is claiming contractors made it worse by leaving the cemetery coated with mud before a funeral.

Mary Coe and husband Richard said pall-bearers at the interment of Richard’s brother Ted had a difficult job, which was made harder after excess soil was left on the path to the grave at the town cemetery.

Mrs Coe said: “There was just dollops of it everywhere, it was like a paddy field.

“It is hard enough to have to do this sort of thing on a good day, never mind with that.” Problems unfolded when constant rain turned earth to mud, making the mourners’ journey to the graveside a difficult one.

Funeral directors had put down matting and erected a gazebo above the grave to make conditions as safe as possible.

Herefordshire Council confirmed it had received a call from a member of the public and had contacted contractors Amey plc.

John Gibbon, bereavement services manager, said: “They feel comfortable that the matter is resolved and it shouldn’t happen again, and we have apologised for any upset that may have been caused.”