A Fife man fears his mother’s ashes have ended up in landfill after her memorial tree was removed by Fife Council.
Having lost his father and grandparents at a young age, Graham Smith said his mother Jane was his best friend and he was devastated when she lost her life to cancer five years ago, at the age of just 49.
He buried her ashes under a tree at Buckhaven Braes and set up a memorial bench so he would have somewhere to go to remember her in happier times.
The council removed the tree last year, apparently for health and safety reasons, because it was dead and have since stated they were “unaware of the tree’s significance”.
The authority has now apologised for any upset.
However, Mr Smith, 34, who claims the council knew his mum’s ashes had been laid to rest at the Braes, said until the matter had been raised by The Courier he had received no apology for the distress it had caused him.
“My mum was my best friend,” he said.
“I don’t have any parents, they were all gone before I was 30 years old.
“The only thing I had in my life was my mother and now I don’t know if the ashes are in the ground or somewhere else because of Fife Council.
“They need to be accountable for their actions.”
Mr Smith was just a baby when his father David was one of 45 people tragically killed in the 1986 Chinook disaster off Shetland.
“The reason I chose that area was because that was the last time my mother was at her happiest in her life, as she would walk me as a baby with my dad.
“I took her back to where she was happy and at peace. I found out the council had pretty much removed the tree without contacting me or anything.
“My mum’s ashes were underneath the tree.
“I have got to live with the thought all my life, are my mum’s ashes underneath the tree or have they been discarded in a landfill somewhere?
“They never apologised to me for the damage that they have done and the emotional stress I have gone through.”
Fife Council team manager Stephen Duffy described it as an “unfortunate incident”.
He said: “The tree was removed from the area as it was dead.
“Unfortunately, we were unaware of the tree’s significance to Mr Smith at the time. Thereafter a replacement memorial oak tree was ordered and planted in its place.
“We understand this has been distressing for Mr Smith and apologise if we have unintentionally caused any upset.”
