'I scattered my husband's ashes using a drone'

A woman who had her husband's ashes scattered over the North Sea by a drone says he "would've loved it".

Jenny Fox, 70, from near Alford, Lincolnshire, arranged for a drone to carry her husband Alan's ashes out over the beach at Skegness.

Family and friends gathered on the sand as the drone circled above them before scattering his ashes into the sea.

"It was absolutely fantastic," she said. "I've not got words to describe how wonderful it was."

Alan died in May 2025 in Lincoln County Hospital after suffering from bladder cancer and chronic kidney failure.

He had served in the Royal Navy and worked as a fisherman, often on beaches along the East Coast.

The pair were together for 40 years, married for 38, and spent their retirement walking Lincolnshire's coast.

Jenny said she chose to scatter his ashes by drone to honour his career and love of aviation.

"His death affected all of us last year quite badly, it was a very sad occasion," she said.

"However, the scattering of his ashes was a dignified farewell and a celebration of his life.

"It might sound silly to say that we all enjoyed it but we did, we just knew that he would've loved it."

Jenny said her husband's ashes have been sitting at the bottom of a wardrobe and that he would be glad to finally be out of it.

"I didn't really want to scatter him in the garden because I'd probably get covered in the ashes if the wind caught me," she laughed.

Jenny said the ceremony brought more comfort to her than the funeral.

Matt Young, owner of Aerial Ashes, the company that carried out the scattering, said the process gave bereaved people "a lot of peace and closure".

"It's such a special thing to be able to help people like that," he said.

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