Moray Council blame IT ‘error’ after ‘distressing’ Hillhead cemetery undug grave blunder
A family turned up to bury a loved one only to find that the grave had not been dug.
Mourners attending Hillhead cemetery between Portknockie and Findochty turned up for the internment at 2.30pm only to make the shocking discovery.
Moray Council workers rushed to the scene with the grave being dug by 3.40pm with the family and others attending to pay their last respects returning at 4,20pm for the burial.
The local authority, which is responsible for the cemetery, said that an IT blunder lay behind the incident.
A council spokesperson said: “Moray Council offers its sincere condolences to the family and regrets that due to an IT error when the booking was taken the request had not been logged properly on our system.
“While this is a highly unusual situation that has not previously occurred, it doesn’t detract from the distressing situation caused for the family on the day. For that we apologise again and can assure them, and other members of the public, that a full investigation took place and mitigations put in place to prevent it from happening again.
“After rectifying the situation immediately, in liaison with the funeral director, we wrote to the family to offer our unreserved apologies and would be happy to meet them should they wish to discuss this further.”
