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| Shrewsbury 'lost baby ashes' probe finds 60 cases | Shrewsbury 'lost baby ashes' probe finds 60 cases |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| At least 60 families have been affected by a crematorium's failure to return the ashes of dead babies to bereaved parents, an inquiry has found. | At least 60 families have been affected by a crematorium's failure to return the ashes of dead babies to bereaved parents, an inquiry has found. |
| The probe was launched after a BBC investigation found Emstrey Crematorium in Shrewsbury had only returned one of 30 sets of remains since 2004. | |
| In a progress report, inquiry head David Jenkins said a trawl of cremation records over the past 15 years had found more cases. | |
| The full report is due in April. | The full report is due in April. |
| Former Dorset County Council chief Mr Jenkins, who was selected to lead the Shropshire Council-commissioned inquiry in December, said he had met with bereaved parents and crematorium staff during his investigation. | Former Dorset County Council chief Mr Jenkins, who was selected to lead the Shropshire Council-commissioned inquiry in December, said he had met with bereaved parents and crematorium staff during his investigation. |
| Parents had "felt their grief made all the more intense" by what they perceived as an unsatisfactory experience at the hands of the crematorium, he said. | Parents had "felt their grief made all the more intense" by what they perceived as an unsatisfactory experience at the hands of the crematorium, he said. |
| "Their sense of anger and anguish arising from the lack of identifiable ashes is acute and real." | "Their sense of anger and anguish arising from the lack of identifiable ashes is acute and real." |
| The inquiry aims to establish what happened to the remains of a number of babies and young children cremated at Emstrey over the last 15 years. | |
| Staff had told him it was not possible for the crematorium's equipment to be "operated in such a way as to enable the return of a child's ashes", Mr Jenkins said. | Staff had told him it was not possible for the crematorium's equipment to be "operated in such a way as to enable the return of a child's ashes", Mr Jenkins said. |
| He said his impression of workers at the site was of "conscientious professionals, trying to do the best they can for bereaved families". | He said his impression of workers at the site was of "conscientious professionals, trying to do the best they can for bereaved families". |
| The remainder of the investigation would focus on cases before December 2012, when new furnaces were installed at the site. | The remainder of the investigation would focus on cases before December 2012, when new furnaces were installed at the site. |
| Most relevant cases before this time had been registered as "no ashes obtainable", Mr Jenkins said. | Most relevant cases before this time had been registered as "no ashes obtainable", Mr Jenkins said. |
| Shropshire Council, which owns the crematorium, and Co-operative Funeralcare, which has managed the site since 2009, are due to submit evidence to the inquiry on past and present cremation policies. | |