I can't be buried with my little girl because of new crematorium rules

A woman said she can no longer be buried with the ashes of her stillborn daughter because of a change in crematorium rules.

From next month new ashes will not be allowed to be buried in historic areas of the gardens of remembrance at Margam Crematorium.

Katherine James, 58, from Port Talbot, who lost her stillborn daughter more than 35 years ago, said: "It's heart-breaking for families - I want to be with my little girl".

Neath Port Talbot Council said it was "no longer possible to find suitable space next to earlier interments without risking disturbance to existing remains".

It said it would offer options in other parts of the crematorium's gardens.

When Katherine's daughter Carrie-Anne was stillborn in 1989, her ashes were buried in Margam Crematorium.

But Katherine said due to the rule changes she can no longer be laid to rest with Carrie-Anne.

Speaking outside the crematorium, she said: "I buried my daughter's ashes here in 1989 on the understanding I could one day go in with her."

"Now I'm being told no," Katherine said.

"I've got a funeral plan at home that states that I am to go with my daughter, and the crematorium have told me no," she said.

Speaking through tears, Katherine said: "I will never accept it, because my daughter was stillborn, and I have always known that I'm going with her."

"I want to be with my little girl," she said.

Katherine also lost her mother, Nina, six years ago, and still has her ashes at home.

She said she was only given a few days to decide whether to bury them with the ashes of other family members.

She said some family members living in Scotland cannot make the ceremony next Tuesday because it is such short notice and they cannot book time off work.

"It's absolutely disgusting that they are doing this to families", she said.

Wendy Williams, 61, lost her steel worker husband Steven, 56, to a "one in a million" rare cancer in 2019.

She said she has been "completely devastated" because she had it written into her will that she wants her ashes buried with her husband.

Wendy said she wanted to be "reunited" with her husband "at the end of her days" and has felt "quite teary" thinking that this will no longer happen.

She called it a "devastating blow".

"I had to tell my sons last night I can't go in with their father - they were shocked," she said.

Neath Port Talbot council said: "The crematorium grounds can no longer accommodate further interments alongside previous remains."

Wet ground conditions across the crematorium mean ashes could not be scattered, because they "may not settle naturally or in a dignified way".

A spokesperson added: "For many years, we have supported families to place cremated remains alongside loved ones within the gardens of remembrance.

"Over time, however, the established burial areas within the gardens have become full, and it is no longer possible to find suitable space next to earlier interments without risking disturbance to existing remains."

It said that the crematorium had always "sought to respect and honour" individual family wishes and it understood how meaningful it could be to have a loved one remembered in a particular place.

So it said it was "with regret" that historic areas of the gardens could no longer accommodate further interments alongside previous remains.

The crematorium would continue to offer new interments within other sections of the gardens and its team was available to support families in exploring options.

"We appreciate that this change may be difficult, and we thank families for their understanding and trust as we continue to care for the gardens of remembrance and all those remembered within them," a spokesperson said.