But the mistake was not uncovered until after the cremation at Birtley Crematorium in Gateshead, when another family were forced to hold a funeral with an empty coffin because their relative had ...

A £2m plan to upgrade an outdated crematorium has been rubber-stamped. Gateshead Council’s cabinet agreed on Tuesday to replace its 29-year-old cremator in Birtley. In December 2017 an urgent ...

A COUNCIL needs to spend £2m to replace the cremator at Birtley Crematorium, or risk being unable to deal with the number of bodies in the event of a pandemic. Gateshead councillors will be asked ...

The Chronicle understands it happened last month when the wrong body was placed in a coffin and taken to Birtley Crematorium, Gateshead, where the funeral then took place. It was only when staff ...

It has emerged that staff working for Co-Op Funeral care at Birtley in Gateshead mixed up bodies, and took the wrong one to a cremation service. The mistake wasn't picked up until it was too late ...

Co-operative Funeralcare have issued the following statement after it came to light that the wrong body had been cremated at a service at Birtley crematorium last month. Two people have been sacked.

The breach of procedure by Co-operative Funeralcare staff meant friends and family ended up saying their final goodbyes to a complete stranger during the funeral at Birtley Crematorium.