Grieving Nottingham family sent body of man, 77, instead of their son who died abroad

The grieving family of a young man from Nottingham who died abroad say they have mistakenly been sent the body of a 77-year-old man.

Kevin Nightingale who was 39, died in May while he was working as a teacher in Cambodia.

He had been living and teaching in the Takéo province for around ten years.

His family say they were were told by authorities there he died from a heart attack.

But when they arrived at the funeral director after repatriation, his parents, Maureen Thompson and Stephen Nightingale, realised it was the body of the wrong man - a 77 year old Canadian, and not their son.

Maureen and Stephen say the last two months have been like "living in a horror movie", saying it has "prolonged our heartache and worry".

Maureen says "He loved his job, he went there and loved his life. All the kids called him the handsome teacher. He had his whole life ahead of him."

Kevin was found dead at his home by a colleague on 3rd May, after not showing up at work for two days.

Authorities in Cambodia informed his family he had died after falling down the stairs while having a heart attack.

Maureen says "I can’t believe he just passed away. You don’t expect your own kids to pass before you".

"The shock and horror"

Kevin's family say they had to raise £7,500 to bring him home.

Evergreen Funeral Services was responsible for the repatriation.

But the Cambodian repatriation service reportedly sent the wrong body to Nottingham-based funeral director L.J. Crawley on the 11th June.

Maureen went with Kevin's brother, Sean, to view who she thought would be her son, only to find the body of a man almost double his age.

She said "I thought ‘my God’. The shock and horror. We couldn’t believe what our eyes were seeing.

"Our minds were everywhere, it was pure panic stations, it was absolutely horrendous."

Stephen said "I felt sick to my stomach. Everyone’s thoughts went to ‘I hope they’ve not cremated him’."

By the time Kevin's body arrived in the UK it was so badly decomposed they say he was "almost unrecognisable".

Kevin's family were refunded the repatriation cost by Evergreen, but they've described the mix-up as an "absolute nightmare".

The Foreign Office confirmed it had assisted the family of a British man who had died in Cambodia.

"How the hell did they get it mixed up?"

Maureen is calling for accountability, saying “Someone has got to be held accountable for this because it made it all worse. It prolonged our heartache and worry.

"How the hell did they get it mixed up? It beggars belief. I’ve never known anything like it in my life."

Stephen said "We just want someone to hold the can for this. The mistakes made over there must have been horrendous to confuse a 39-year-old with a guy over 70. It’s incomprehensible".

He says “Surely there’s custom checks and double-checks and triple-checks they have to do?"

Kevin's family are still awaiting the results of swabs taken during a post-mortem in the UK, which they were told could take 18 weeks.

Stephen paid tribute to his son, saying "He was one of the nicest people you could meet. He was a heartbreaker and had a heart of gold."

Evergreen Funeral Services, which was responsible for the repatriation, has not responded to a request for comment.