FEES ARE AXED
huge bills also hailed the victory. Melissa Watkin, 35, lost two children and a funeral bill left her in debt.
She said: “This is the best news. I couldn’t be happier. I am still in debt after being forced to take a loan to bury one of my children. I’m just so pleased no other parent will be left in the same crippling predicament.”
Single mum Melissa, of Hull, was devastated after son Christian-Lee was stillborn in December 2014. She had to take out a £3,000 loan to pay for the funeral, but sky-high interest fees lifted that debt to £7,500.
Melissa added: “Losing my son was so incredibly hard but then having to go into debt meant I was left virtually poverty stricken. It compounded the pain I felt and it makes me so angry that I’m still paying the loan off over three years later.
“I’m just so pleased no other mum will have to endure what I’ve gone through and am still trying to manage. The Sunday Mirror is going to help so many others and you should be so proud. When I heard the news I cheered with delight. It really is the greatest achievement.
“Of course a part of me is angry the fees weren’t scrapped before I lost my son. But I’m so happy other parents won’t be in the same cruel position.”
Melissa lost a second baby, eightmonth-old Sophia-Grace Karen, in 2016, and had to rely on her parents to stump up the money to stop the tot being buried in a pauper’s grave.
Melissa went on: “The guilt I felt that I couldn’t afford my own daughter’s burial was huge and it just added to the pain I was already suffering.
“No parent should be left to feel like that and now they won’t – thanks to the sheer hard work of the Sunday Mirror and Carolyn Harris.”
Since launching our campaign, a number of local authorities have cancelled the fees. Just last week, Wakefield Council leader Peter Box contacted us to reveal his authority was “fully behind” the campaign.
He said: “With immediate effect, there will be no charges. There will be a cost to the council but it is a cost we gladly bear when you consider how much it could help bereaved families.”