A bereaved son has blasted L J Guyan – a undertaker firm, after they ‘lost’ his dad’s body – forcing the funeral to be postponed.
Leigh Blanning enlisted the firm after dad John Blanning, 82, passed away in December 2022. But when it came to the day of the funeral Leigh was told the ceremony could not go ahead – because the hearse had broken down.
Devastated Leigh, from Bristol, had to tell mourners to go straight to the wake – meaning they couldn’t pay their proper respects.
And, after L J Guyan launched a probe, it turned out it wasn’t that the hearse hadn’t broken down – but that the late Mr Blanning’s body had been misplaced.
But a report months later revealed this was not true – and the body of John Blanning, 82, had actually been left nine miles away in Bath.
Leigh, 51, said: ‘It was the most horrific experience I’ve ever had. Even now, a couple of months, on I don’t feel any justice has been done.
‘I feel that I’ve let my dad down and it’s left me feeling so bitter and angry about it.
‘It was a day we should have been celebrating my dad’s life and it turned out to be day where we were talking about what happened instead.
‘People weren’t really giving that much thought to dad, I know it was something beyond our control but the effect that it had on me was unbearable.
‘It’s been completely upsetting.’
The son had reconnected with his dad a decade ago after 38 years apart, and had quit his job to look after him.
John died in December 2022.Leigh, who is from Bristol, enlisted L J Guyan after a recommendation from a family member.
His dad’s funeral was arranged for Monday, January 16, but Leigh received a call while on his way there saying there was an issue and the funeral couldn’t run to time.
Mourners were told to go straight to the wake instead, and when Leigh called the funeral directors he was told the hearse had broken down.
The funeral was rearranged for the following Friday, but many were unable to make the new date.
Leigh requested a full investigation into what happened and has now received a report.
It read: ‘On the morning of January 16, the day that your father’s funeral was due to take place, our funeral director went to close your fathers coffin and prepare for the funeral and realised that your father was not resting in Keynsham.
‘She discovered that your father was still resting in Bath. By this time, our bearer party and hearse were arriving at Keynsham.
‘Our funeral director contacted you and told you that our hearse had broken down.
‘This was not true.’
L J Guyan apologised for what happened and said it will continue to support Leigh.
Leigh added: ‘Everyone I’ve spoken to has said they’ve never heard of this happening before and even the funeral home said it has never happened before.
‘How can you lose a body? In the report they accept full liability, they admit lying and failing.
‘I’d had a phone call on Sunday evening to say everything was fine, so I said why did I get that phone call and how could they say everything was fine when his body wasn’t there.
‘No one realised the body was in Bath and no one in Bath realised he was there – you would imagine they do some kind of stock check.
‘It took two months for them to complete the investigation, I was calling regularly for updates and felt I was being fobbed off – all I wanted to know is what happened.’
A spokesperson for L J Guyan said: ‘Caring for deceased persons in a professional and respectful manner is at the core of everything we do.
‘We accept that in this instance our robust procedures and policies have not been followed and we have fallen short of the standards we strive for and that our clients have every right to expect.
‘We have apologised in person to our client and will continue to support them.
‘Following a thorough investigation, we have amended our processes to ensure there is no repeat of this regrettable situation.’
