Cemetery worker buried dead on top of each other

A CEMETERY official made thousands of pounds burying the dead on top of each other in a nine-year campaign of fraud against grieving families.

William Henderson pocketed cash after selling space reserved by other families for future use and in parts of the cemetery where burials were not allowed, such as footpaths and access routes.

The former superintendent at Edinburgh’s Mount Vernon Cemetery yesterday admitted fraudulently misselling burial plots.

In one case the grieving family only realised their mother had been buried on an access path when, following a snowy winter funeral, they revisited her grave in spring and discovered the true location.

Henderson’s criminal campaign involved 13 individual cases of fraud totalling more than £14,000. He sold plots for as much as £6,500, though in one case charged just £20.

The court heard Henderson had no authority to sell the plots, as they already contained remains, were either owned by others or were situated in common ground.

He admitted a single fraud charge when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court and was warned by Sheriff Donald Corke he faced a possible prison sentence.

The Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh said it “deeply regrets” the actions of the former employee.