The second funeral took place two years after the first

The body of grandmother Lilly Blackburn was exhumed on Wednesday night from the grave at Ty Rhiw cemetery in Taff's Well, near Cardiff, and was reburied in the correct location on Thursday.

She died in 2001 and should have been buried in the same grave as her husband, who died in 1959. Instead, she was buried in the next grave along.

On the day of the funeral her daughter Marlene Jones raised her concern that Mrs Blackburn was being buried in the wrong grave.

Funeral directors and council officials were told and the ceremony was held up for 40 minutes while records were checked.

I would go up to the cemetery and take flowers there. I knew my aunt was there, but I was convinced my uncle was not Niece Beryl Edwards

But the family were told that that they had made a mistake - and that Lilly Blackburn was, in fact, being buried with her husband.

They were told that they had been visiting the wrong grave for more than 40 years, and the ceremony went ahead.

Now, after two-and-a half years of campaigning, officials have confirmed that the family were right all along.

Mrs Blackburn's niece, Beryl Edwards, told BBC Radio Wales that her cousin Mrs Jones, now 70, had never been in any doubt.

"When we got to the graveside, Marlene grabbed my arm and said, 'My dad is not buried in that grave', " Mrs Edwards said.

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is continuing its investigation in conjunction with the South Wales Police into claims of irregularities to entries in the registers of burials Council statement

"She had tended that grave all those years, and she was convinced she was right. It was always on our minds.

"I would go up to the cemetery and take flowers there. I knew my aunt was there, but I was convinced my uncle was not."

Unhappy with the situation, the family kept writing to Rhondda Cynon Taf council in the hope of getting the records checked.

Mrs Jones and other relatives were in no doubt that a mistake had been made, but they kept being told that everything was in order.

Then another family erected a headstone on another grave in the same section of the cemetery.

That family was told by the council that there was not a grave there - but they insisted there was, and so tests were carried out and a coffin found.

Battle won

That convinced Mrs Blackburn's relatives even more that she had not been buried with her husband, and that something was wrong with the records of the graves in the cemetery.

Mrs Edwards hopes that the second funeral will help her cousin, Mrs Jones, to leave the matter behind.

"She hasn't been able to lay her mum to rest," Mrs Edwards said.

Queries about other cemeteries in the area are being investigated

"Maybe now she will, as she will know that her parents are together." Mrs Blackburn's case is not the only one which has been raised by bereaved relatives in the area.

A number of claims of irregularities at the same cemetery, and at two others in the area, are being investigated by the council and South Wales Police.

Rhondda Cynon Taf press officer Rob Thompson said the council had worked with the relatives to resolve the Blackburn family's "unique" situation.

"Following the recent reports of improper practice in part of its cemetery service, the council have been working very closely with the Blackburn family," he said in a statement.

"All arrangements have been carried out promptly and entirely in accordance with the family's wishes. All costs will be covered by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council.

"Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is continuing its investigation in conjunction with the South Wales Police into claims of irregularities to entries in the registers of burials in the Taf Ely area.

The cemeteries involved are Cefn y parc, Ty Rhiw and Glyntaff."