A FAMILY are ‘delighted’ after finally receiving their parents’ ashes retained by a crooked undertaker.

Despite repeated requests, they were never handed over by Teignmouth undertaker Robert Loveridge, who was sent to prison for stealing funeral collection money.

Allie Clark persistently asked him for the ashes of her mother Joan Hook, who died in 2001 aged 83, and dad Snowy Hook, a well-known Shaldon boatman, who passed away in 2010 aged 86.

She wanted to intern them in the family plot at St Nicholas Church, Shaldon.

But she was repeatedly fobbed off for years by Loveridge, and had given up hope of ever seeing them until another undertaker discovered the ashes in the former Harris & Loveridge premises, and turned detective to track down relatives.

Allie, a Teignbridge council officer, said: ‘I had known Loveridge since the age of four, and regarded him as a friend. But he betrayed me and a lot of other people. I kept asking for the ashes, and he said he would deal with it, but nothing materialised.

‘Then out of the blue this week I had a message from a firm of Torquay undertakers, who said they had come across my parents’ ashes. The only clue they had was a tag ‘c/o Allie’ on them. They spent many hours finding me, and our family is very grateful for their sleuthing.

‘The urns we paid for were not cheap, but it is obvious he never obtained them because all the ashes found at the premises were still in the original packaging from the crematoriums. It explains everything.’

Kevin Lack of K J Lack based at Plainmoor said he became involved when they asked if he would like to buy the Loveridge business.

‘I came over and decided not to. But we belong to the same funeral plan company that he did, and offered to take on any plans that he would have been responsible for.

‘Looking around the building, I spotted about 80 urns. They obviously belonged to relatives, but for whatever reason, had not been claimed or handed over to relatives.

‘We thought that trying to trace as many relatives as possible from the minimal paperwork available, was the right thing to do. We are still working on it, but some next of kin may never be found because they have moved away, died or just do not want the ashes anymore.

‘It is very sad, and I have no idea why they were not handed over as they should have been. We are very happy that Allie has at last received the ashes of her parents, and if anybody else thinks their relatives’ ashes might be there, they are welcome to get in touch with us and we will try and help.

K J Lack can be contacted on 01803 313200.