Leeds family left distraught after council's 'administrative error' almost ruins grandfather's burial

Terry Madden, a well-loved sales executive from the city, died at the age of 90 last month.

He’d always planned for his ashes to be interred at the family plot in Lawnswood Cemetery, where his wife and son are buried.

But a mistake by Leeds City Council meant that the ceremony almost didn’t take place.

This week, the local authority apologised for its handling of the situation.

Terry’s daughter-in-law Carole Bradbourne, 61, explained that the family arrived at the cemetery on December 5 as planned, but no one turned up with their relative’s ashes.

When they asked a grave digger what was going on, he went to find out. But it was not good news – the grave digger told the family that the interment had been unexpectedly cancelled.

“I just broke down,” said Carole. “I was shaking and feeling physically sick. My son was stood at the open grave where his dad was buried, but we couldn’t bury his grandad. I just couldn’t believe it.”

Carole, who lives in Meanwood, got in touch with the council’s bereavement services, who said they’d look into the problem.

It was then that they were told the ceremony could go ahead after all, as a council worker had arrived with the ashes.

Although the interment was able to take place, Carole said it was a huge shock to hear it had initially been cancelled – and described the situation as an “absolute sham”.

The problems started even before the ceremony. She said she was told she’d have to remove a grave slab and chippings herself before it could happen – and when it finally did, she was left unimpressed by the attitude of council workers.

Later complaining to the authority, she said: “I wanted to know exactly what happened. They told me someone had written on the job ‘cancelled’. It seemed like a very antiquated way of doing things.

“No amount of apologising could rectify it. At a time like this when you’re grieving, you’re in bits.”

She remembered Terry as a family man, who acted as a father to her son.

Carole’s son Tom, 27, was just six-years-old when his dad Gary died at the age of 41 – so Tom’s grandfather was an important figure in his life.

“He was a really kind and gentle man. Everyone loved him,” said Carole.

The handling of the situation has deterred her from having her own ashes interred, instead saying she’d rather have them scattered at sea.

A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said: “We would like to apologise again to Ms Bradbourne and her family for any distress this has caused and for falling below the standards we strive for when working with bereaved families.

“It is always our intention to carry out services with compassion and professionalism and it is clear that did not happen in this instance. We apologised to Ms Bradbourne for the error and worked swiftly to correct our mistake and then to look at what had occurred.

“The cancellation of this ceremony was due to an isolated administrative error and we have spoken to the staff involved and are reviewing our processes to ensure this does not happen again.”