A grieving family who had been visiting the wrong grave for 17 years after a funeral blunder say they still have unanswered questions.
Tom Bell and his sisters, Denise and Debra, found out earlier this year that their dad had been buried in the wrong plot at Holy Trinity Church in Wingate, County Durham, since 2005.
The error was only discovered after the death of their mum, Hilda, whose last wishes were to be buried alongside her husband.
The siblings endured a painful six-week delay while gravediggers dug up 11 plots searching for Thomas Bell's resting place, as Hilda lay in a funeral home.
A report has now been published into the distressing mix-up, and blames a "perfect storm" of circumstances for the error.
But the Bell family say they have been left with more questions than answers after the report's conclusions.
Tom, from Easington, said: “I don’t really feel like we’re any further forward – it still doesn’t explain what happened and hasn’t answered any of our questions.
“They’re still just going around the houses and no one seems to be accepting any blame.
"The one person being blamed is the former vicar who’s no longer around to defend himself."
The month-long investigation conducted by Archdeacon of Sunderland Bob Cooper said former Reverend Martin Vaizey, who retired in 2007, "did not keep records to the extent that would be considered best practice".
The family also only discovered the report had been published after they were contacted by a newspaper reporter.
Tom, 58, continued: "The Archdeacon told us they’d send me and my sisters a copy of the report before it was published but we heard nothing from them."
The Durham Diocese said it would not be commenting further on the findings of its investigation.
Factory worker Tom added: “The only closure we’ve got is that mum and dad are at peace together.
“Mum used to visit what she thought was dad’s grave every Friday for 17 years on her way to the hairdressers and we’ve been going down a couple of times a week.
“This can’t be allowed to happen to anyone else.”
