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David Bishop
Ex-miner John Bishop, 89, died after a heart attack at the end of April
A grieving son says he's "dumbstruck" after his dad's ashes were scattered by a crematorium without his permission.
David Bishop, 60, planned to collect the ashes of former miner John from Gwent Crematorium and take them to Nottinghamshire so they could be laid beside his late mum.
But when David contacted the crematorium on Wednesday, two weeks after the funeral, he was told John's ashes had already been scattered despite his request.
Co-op Funeralcare said its records showed the instructions provided to the Crematorium "reflected the wishes of our client", while Newport City Council, which manages the crematorium, said an investigation is under way.
David said he feels "empty and helpless".
"It feels so empty that at the end of his life he has been treated so disrespectfully," David said.
David Bishop
David described his father as a "lovely" and "colourful character"
David, from Caerleon, Newport, described his father as a "lovely", "colourful character" and "well respected", saying his large beard meant "everyone saw him as kind of a Father Christmas lookalike".
He said his dad was "very career-orientated", who started out as an apprentice in Cwmbran before rising through the ranks to become a mining engineer, working across Scotland, the North East, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.
The 89-year-old was involved in miners' union discussions, hosted Arthur Scargill during the miners' strike, later met Michael Foot, and served as lifetime president of Tredegar RFC.
"He was well respected in the community," David said.
"He was the epitome of a successful man."
John ended his career as head of machine services for British Coal in Worksop.
After the death of his wife June Bishop in 2020, to whom he was "joined at the hip", he moved to a care home in Caerleon in January to be closer to David, his only child, as his health and mobility declined.
David Bishop
John was "joined at the hip" with his wife June until she died in 2020
John died suddenly at the end of April after being admitted to hospital for routine checks and suffering a heart attack.
David said the family arranged the funeral through Co-op Funeralcare, in line with his father's wishes, as the company had also organised his mother's funeral in the Midlands.
Although John wanted his funeral to take place in south Wales, he had asked for his ashes to be laid beside his wife at Babworth Crematorium.
The funeral was held on 26 May, but David said everything changed when he emailed Gwent Crematorium to arrange collection of the ashes.
Shortly afterwards, he received a call informing him they had already been scattered in the Garden of Remembrance "because they believed that was the instruction from the funeral director".
When he learned what had happened on Wednesday, David said he was "dumbstruck" and left work early.
"I just couldn't believe it," he said.
"I was thinking, 'am I really hearing this? How can this be? It just doesn't feel right.'
"I'm still struggling to comprehend it."
David explained how Gwent Crematorium had been "very apologetic" and told him an investigation was under way.
On Friday morning, he submitted a complaint to Co-op Funeralcare and later received a phonecall where a member of staff said: "We are here for you, but we've looked at everything at our end and can't see why the instructions changed.
"I still don't know exactly what's happened," David said.
"I'm assuming somebody's made a mistake somewhere, but nobody's admitted that yet.
"They've told me I have to wait until the investigation is finished, which will probably be next week.
"The funeral home gave me a number to call if I need anything, but there's nothing more they can do now until the investigation is concluded.
"It just leaves me feeling empty and helpless.
"I've probably been more emotional over the last two days than since his death because it's just not right.
"I just feel hurt that I can't do what I need to do," he added.
David Bishop
John was "very career-orientated", starting as an apprentice in Cwmbran before rising through the ranks to become a mining engineer
A spokesperson for Co-op Funeralcare said its records showed the instructions provided to Gwent Crematorium "reflected the wishes of our client", Mr Bishop, regarding the collection of his late father's ashes.
"We are deeply saddened to learn that our client's wishes were not followed and the understandable upset and distress this has caused, and we are continuing to support Mr Bishop and his family throughout," it added.
"We hope that any investigation carried out by Gwent Crematorium will be able to provide our client with the answers they deserve."
A spokesperson for Newport City Council said an investigation was being carried out to "find out how this happened to prevent it from happening again in the future".
"We spoke to Mr Bishop yesterday but would like to apologise publicly to him and his family for what we recognise is a deeply upsetting situation," it added.
