Her wish was that, just as they had all lived together, so they would all be buried together

Counsel Alan Summers

He has gone to the Court of Session in Edinburgh to seek authority to disinter the remains of Margaret Black and Peter Butler.

Lord Penrose rejected an initial legal challenge by the local authority, which said Mr Paterson had no right to bring the action.

Mr Paterson, from Bellshill in Lanarkshire, maintains that the two bodies were buried in error in lair 906 at St Patrick's Cemetery, New Stevenston.

Lithuanian immigrant

A certificate was issued to him in 1961 by the Cemetery Board of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Motherwell granting him exclusive right of burial in the lair for 60 years.

North Lanarkshire Council now has responsibility for the management of the cemetery.

The court heard that Mr Paterson, who came to Scotland from Lithuania after WWII, and his wife had shared a home with his mother-in law until she died.

His counsel, Alan Summers, said: "Mr Paterson came to regard that lady as his mother and there was a very close bond between them.

"Her wish was that, just as they had all lived together, so they would all be buried together."

Mr Paterson said his mother-in-law's grave was unmarked, but in the mid 1990s a tombstone appeared bearing the names of Margaret Black and Peter Butler.

He claims that the Butler family had lair 609 and the bodies were buried in lair 906 by mistake but that the council had refused to accept an error had occurred.

Family challenge

The council and members of the Butler family challenged Mr Paterson's application to the court.

They questioned the factual claims made by him and disputed the competence of his legal action, claiming he had no title to sue.

Counsel for the local authority, Iain Ferguson, said that Mr Paterson did not fall into the categories of people entitled to apply to the court to disinter human remains, as he was not a relative of the deceased he wanted removed, nor a manager of the cemetery.

But Lord Penrose said there was no basis in legal authorities for any exhaustive list of persons who could present an application for disinterment.

"Title will depend on the rights which the applicant contends are available to him. In the present case Mr Paterson has contractual rights," said the judge.

Further legal procedure would be required and "sensitive issues" could arise for the families concerned, he added.