Five parents who say Aberdeen City Council disposed of their babies’ ashes without their consent are suing the local authority for thousands of pounds in the first cases of their kind in Scotland.
Three mothers and two fathers have launched actions at the Court of Session in Edinburgh amid claims that the remains of their infants were scattered or buried without them ever knowing.
Janice Guild, of Kintore, Leeanne Evans, of Peterhead and Gillian Mellis, Paul Wells and Robin Leith, all of Aberdeen, have started their legal fight over the way their late children’s ashes were disposed of at Hazlehead Crematorium.
Aberdeen City Council has always maintained it has operated within the rules.
But the parents claim they spent years grieving for their youngsters while being left unaware that their remains had been disposed of in the crematorium’s Garden of Remembrance.
Some also now allege that the local authority misled them over what happened to their children.
Lindsay Bruce, from Thompsons Solicitors, who is representing the parents, said: “A number of parents have taken action in the Court of Session in Edinburgh against Aberdeen City Council.
“The action before the Court of Session is for the wrongful disposal of their babies’ ashes at Hazlehead Crematorium by Aberdeen City Council.
“To date, the parents have been unable to secure any answers from Aberdeen City Council.
“In some instances, the parents have been provided with inaccurate information from the council. This left them no alternative other than to pursue matters through the Scottish courts.”
Questions were asked about procedures at Hazlehead after concerns were raised over practices at Mortonhall Crematorium in Edinburgh.
An independent audit was launched by Aberdeen City Council chief executive Valerie Watts.
Under current policy, crematorium staff advise bereaved parents that there will be no remains of infants aged up to 18 months.
The powerful furnaces used in the cremation process destroy young bones.
However, auditors were unable to check if families had been consulted in 40 instances dating back to 1984, as records were not kept.
It is not clear whether bereaved families knew the ashes existed.
Aberdeen City Council maintains that its crematorium procedures have been sound.
Last night, a spokesman for the local authority said: “As these claims are now subject to court proceedings, it would be inappropriate to comment.”
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