A WOMAN found memorial items she had left on her parents gravestone dumped in bin bags after the crematorium had 'a tidy up' of the site.

Christine Howell, aged 59, from Daisy Hill, initially thought the items had been stolen after visiting the grave in Howe Bridge Crematorium.

But when she contacted the crematorium she was told that her items, which included a lamp, vase, artificial flowers and a plant, had been removed by staff.

She was told her items were 'outside of the grave space in the grave deeds' and that all items had been kept and could be collected.

On the day she went to pick up her items, Mrs Howell found them in bin bags amongst other mourners' items — and the plant had been left to die.

The crematorium has since apologised for what happened.

Mrs Howell, who used to live in Tyldesley, said: "I have been visiting my parents' grave for six years and nothing like this has ever happened.

"When I went to pick them up it was disgusting to be honest.

"They had just been dumped in bin bags with all other people's things. The artificial flowers were filthy and the germanium had just been left to die,

"It was so disrespectful. I like going up to my mum and dad's grave and making it look nice and changing the flowers, it makes me feel better.

"I didn't mean to do anything to disrespect their deeds and if they had just left a sign to say that I had or contacted me I would have removed them myself.

"It was my dad's wish to go to Howe Bridge and it's a beautiful crematorium.

"But the staff had a complete lack of respect for my items and it was very upsetting I expected them to be more courteous."

A spokesperson for the Westerleigh Group, which manages Howe Bridge Crematorium, said that they 'fully understood Mrs Howell's upset' and the 'insensitive way in which her articles were stored.'

He said: "Please be assured that lessons have been learnt by the crematorium staff. We should have placed a notice within the grounds advising families of our intentions, please accept our sincere apologies for this omission."