'They moved eight people's remains to bury my husband in Tipton'

BBC News

a day ago

In August 2022, Dawn Cotterell stood beside her husband Roger's grave.Her world had been torn apart when the 53-year-old father-of-two, who had recently become a grandfather, died after collapsing while playing football, following complications from a blood clot.The couple of 34 years had bought burial plots in Tipton Cemetery because they wanted to ensure that when the day came they would be laid to rest close to graves of their loved ones.But, a day after Mr Cotterell's funeral, the family noticed a skip full of soil nearby and could not believe what they were seeing.
"There was a skull and many, many bones," Mrs Cotterell recalled."I was just so traumatised, I just couldn't believe what was going on."
forensics officers from West Midlands Police arrived, cordoned off the Alexandra Road cemetery and stayed for days until it was established the remains were from pauper's graves – unmarked public burials – dating back to the early 1960s.While there were no suspicious circumstances, the mystery deepened.It emerged that in preparing the burial plot for Mr Cotterell, Sandwell Council staff had excavated the plot and disturbed human remains, loading them into the skip.
Mrs Cotterell was informed there were more than 400 bones removed from her husband's plot."It was unbelievable. I just wanted answers from Sandwell Council."The council told the BBC it was an isolated incident, a mistake, and it has apologised to the family for the distress they suffered.A spokesperson said: "We are very sorry to hear the family are still experiencing a difficult time."Our bereavement services team worked tirelessly to support the family for many months."Thankfully, an approach was eventually agreed with the family, to help achieve an outcome aligned to their wishes".
In October 2022, former MP for Dudley North Marco Longhi had written to a council manager, describing Mrs Cotterell's experience as "outrageous", adding it "fell very short of minimum dignity standards".She said the authority eventually funded the exhumation of her husband's grave and the insertion of a vault to contain his body within the plot. Yet, in doing this, more human remains were found.The BBC has seen a document which names eight people whose remains were disturbed that day and it said they ranged in age from stillborn to 80 and public or pauper burials had taken place between 1961 and 1963.Despite ongoing criticism by the family, the authority said it followed correct procedures after the incident and the Local Government Ombudsman agreed.A council spokesperson added: "We routinely update and maintain burial records in our cemeteries and crematoria, however, are often reliant on information recorded many decades ago, which was the case in this instance."With many of the burials in this area not having any known next of kin, we could not identify anyone at the time to contact who may have been affected."
Mrs Cotterell said the pain of effectively having a second funeral was unbearable. She is equally distraught at the thought relatives of the paupers may be alive and unaware this has happened."We've had around 15 meetings with Sandwell Council and it's almost like they were making up some of the answers on the spot in front of us."She told BBC Midlands Today she rejected a final compensation offer of about £8,000 because it came with a non-disclosure agreement which she was not prepared to sign."They want to keep this quiet but it's not about the money; it's about justice for my husband, it's the last thing I can do for him now."I'm on my own and it's dragging me and my mental health down".
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