They buried my son in the wrong grave
FAMILY FACE ORDEAL OF BODY BEING EXHUMED
Mum tells of heartache at funeral blunder
Blundering gravediggers left a grieving family in shock after burying their loved one in the wrong plot.
Now the remains of Mark Wal lace wi l l have to be exhumed and a new funeral service organised before he can eventually be laid to rest.
The 41- year- old died last month following a short illness.
He was buried in the privately run Eastern Cemetery in Edinburgh three weeks later in a moving ceremony attended by close family and friends.
The mi sta ke was not discovered until af ter the ser v ice by Mark ’ s mum Margaret Wallace, 66.
Her son was supposed to be buried in a family lair beside his grandparents.
Now the graveyard owners have asked the family ’ s permission to get a court order to exhume the coffin and place it in the correct grave. The Wallaces now face the agony of having to go through another burial. Margaret said she discovered her son dead when she went to visit him at his home in the Pleasance area of Edinburgh on June 4.
She added: “His death came as a great shock. I could never have dreamt that anything like this would have happened at his own funeral.
“I thought something was wrong as soon as the service was over.
"People look at you as if you are stupid and think it’s your fault when you tell them. They seem to think I should ’ ve spotted the mistake beforehand.
“I pay the cemetery £25 once a year to look after the lair and have done so for the last 45 years.
“Mark used to take me down to the offices so I could pay it. He deserves better than this.”
The Wallaces got a letter from Eastern Cemetery Co Ltd asking for the go-ahead to seek an order at Edinburgh Sheriff Court to exhume Mark. His sister Sharon Wallace, 35, said: “It’s very upsetting for my mum who has lost her only son.
“We didn’t realise the mistake at the time, because we were all so upset at the funeral.
“Mum spotted the error after Mark had been laid to rest and the minister had finished the service. The last four weeks has been very stressful and wearing for us all.”
Retired minister the Rev Ralph Dunn, who carried out the funeral, said he would be willing to do a second service. He added: “I’ve been doing funerals since 1993 and have never come across anything like this.
“I think it was a genuine mistake but it’s obviously very upsetting for the family.
“Once a coffin is below ground it cannot be touched unless you have a court order.”
Eastern Cemetery owners said they had apologised to the Wallace family and admitted the mistake. The company’s managing director Mary Fairbairn said that an employee had been suspended.
She added: “I have engaged a solicitor to seek an exhumation order. The family will be told when this is going to happen.”
A spokesman for Scotmid, who arranged the funeral, said: “This is a matter for the Eastern Cemeter y. Our hear t felt sympathies are with the Wallace family and we’ve offered them our full support during this incredibly difficult time.”
Once a coffin is below ground, it can’t be touched without a court order