A grieving son was scolded during his father’s funeral after moving his chair closer to his upset mother in order to comfort her.
The incident occurred at Crownhill Crematorium in Milton Keynes, England, where Craig Bicknell and his family were shouted at by an official after the grieving son decided to flout social distancing instructions in order to comfort his mother.
As Mr. Bicknell revealed, he and his brother, Paul, were left devastated after the family got reprimanded for comforting the elderly lady who had just lost her partner.
“I can sit in a restaurant, I can sit in a pub, I can live at her house, I can travel in a limousine to the crematorium with 6,” the man wrote on Facebook as he opened up about the incident.
“But when I want to give my mum a cuddle at dad’s funeral, a man flies out mid service shouting stop the service and makes us split… A devastating day made even worse.”
In the footage taken at the crematorium, Craig is seen moving his chair closer to his mom and wrapping his arm around her. After another man in the front row had followed his example, an official came rushing into the room and telling the attendees to move their chairs back into their original position.
“You can’t move the chairs, you were told,” the man reportedly told the family, prompting Craig to move away from his mother.
The footage from the service was originally shared on Facebook by Milton Keynes Community Hub who wrote:
“We were contacted by a resident who recently said goodbye to his father at Crownhill Crematorium.
“They wanted us to help highlight how traumatic and upsetting the experience of a funeral now is, on top of the already sadness people feel when laying somebody to rest.”
After the story went viral, Milton Keynes Council admitted that “a more considered approach” should be taken in this instance.
“We are sorry to have upset this family. We don’t usually step in if a guest needs to be comforted by another family member and in this instance should have taken a more considered approach,” the spokesperson said.
“We ask funeral directors to let us know whether any chairs should be grouped in advance, and from now on this includes guests who are in the same household or bubbles, as well as people who need extra support. We hope this provides additional comfort at a difficult time.”
Replaced!