A grief-stricken daughter has pledged to have her mother’s body exhumed after what she described as a “catastrophic” series of errors by a funeral director.

Allison Wright is prepared to go through complex legal procedures and fork out £4,000 of her savings to get her mum Pamela Fuller dug up from a cemetery in Chatham.

The 52-year-old has taken the Walderslade branch of Co-operative Funeralcare to a lengthy tribunal which found her wishes to have the 83-year-old mother-of seven embalmed were not met.

The day before she and her twin sister Frances Dicketts were due to say their final farewells they were told the corpse was too de-composed to view.

Mrs Wright is also questioning whether all the items she wanted placed in her coffin, including two of her favourite brooches, were in fact put in there.

She wants proof her mum was dressed in the clothing selected by the family and by a qualified person.

The sisters are also distressed Mrs Fuller’s body was transferred to four different branches following her death from cancer in September 2017.

Woman pledges to have mum's body exhumed after funeral director failings

Mrs Wright said: “It was like pass the parcel with a body bag.

“They showed my mother no respect and were dismissive when we said we had wanted to see her.”

The mother-of-three is also “appalled” two limousines were only ordered hours before the service because of an oversight by the branch.

She has complained bitterly about inconsistent and a lack of paperwork regarding arrangements.

She was also issued a final warning letter for payment when it had already been paid direct from her mother’s funeral policy.

Warning bells started to ring when she spotted a “minus” sign next to “embalming” on the bill and some jewellery was not listed on an items itinerary.

She contacted the National Association of Funeral Directors, the industry regulator of which Co-op Funeralcare is a member.

An inquiry by an independent conciliation company failed to give Mrs Wright the answers she felt she needed for closure.

She then took it on to the next stage of arbitration which found the Co-op’s documentation “sometimes contradictory or incomplete” and “contradictions in paperwork somewhat disturbing”.

“It was like pass the parcel with a body bag" Mrs Wright

It ruled staff failed to carry out Mrs Wright’s request for embalming which was a breach of contract.

But added “on the balance of probability” all requested items were placed in the coffin and the “deceased was appropriately dressed by a competent person”.

Because of this, Mrs Wright was ordered to pay £300 costs to The Co-operative Funeralcare.

The Chatham resident, who is married to husband Keith, said: “I cannot accept there has been a communication breakdown. There must be a paper trail to give me the evidence.

“I just want a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ - that’s not much to ask.”

Mrs Dicketts, who also lives in Chatham, said: “You expect to be treated with dignity at such an emotional time.

“This has taught us not to trust people. You never know, we might open the coffin up and everything will be there. But at least this will serve as a warning to others.”

“I can hear my mum saying to me don’t let them get away with it..." Mrs Wright

The sisters last saw their mother alive at Pembroke House care home in Gillingham where she died on September 3 2017.

She was then taken to the Co-op branch in Sittingbourne before being transferred to Gravesend on September 13 then to Walderslade on September 25 before going to Chatham on October 6, the day of the funeral.

Mrs Wright added: “My mum was quite glam and liked dressing up.

“But over the last year she has been in a nightie and was too unwell to put on a dress to go to a wedding, which is why we chose that outfit to dress her in.

“I can hear my mum saying to me don’t let them get away with it.

“She will not rest until this is sorted and that means having her body dug up.”

Co-op Funeralcare's head of operations, Ed Lane, said: "We're really sorry for the upset and for the mistake we made in not carrying out embalming, as per her wishes. This was unfortunately due to an error on our part.

"We would again like to re-assure Mrs Wright her late mum was treated with the utmost dignity and respect at all times while in our care.

"We've offered to meet Mrs Wright to discuss her concerns directly and are happy to do so at any point. Additionally, we've offered to fulfil Mrs Wright's masonry choices for her late mum."

He added there were a number of circumstances that led to Mrs Fuller being taken to funeral parlours to ensure the best levels of care.

He said: "Mrs Fuller was dressed in her own clothes by our funeral director and funeral services operative, in line with our usual standards and processes."