Mother jailed over son's cremation

A woman who filled in false paperwork to stop her ex-husband attending their son's cremation has been jailed for four months.

Cathleen Hackney, from Blurton, Stoke-on-Trent, was convicted of two charges - signing a false certificate and making a false representation with a view to procuring the burning of human remains - under the 1902 Cremations Act last month.

Jurors at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that, because of her actions, her ex-husband Paul Barber was unaware the funeral of his son Paul Moreland was taking place.No-one attended the funeral, the court heard.

Jailing her, Judge David Fletcher told Hackney the breaches of the Cremations Act had led to Mr Moreland's relatives being "kept completely in the dark" about his funeral in 2010.

The judge added that Mr Barber had undoubtedly suffered psychological distress.

He told Hackney: "I have no doubt that this is a case where your actions were intended to cause harm specifically to Mr Barber.

"You willingly violated the criminal law to achieve that aim."

Hackney was also ordered to pay her former husband £5,000 in compensation.