By Emily Parsons

Last updated at 12:49, Tuesday, 12 February 2013

A mother was left in tears after bungling workers put the wrong headstone on her parents’ grave.

Tracey Wright

Tracey Wright, 47, of Creighton Avenue, on Carlisle’s Raffles estate, discovered the mistake after one of her children questioned whether their granddad’s grave had been moved.

“My son went up on Saturday and when he was around mine on Sunday he asked if anybody had moved Nana and granddad,” she said.

When Miss Wright went to see for herself, she was horrified to find that a headstone for another couple entirely had been placed above her parents’ grave.

Miss Wright was adopted by her parents at the age of three months, and was devastated when her mum, Mary Jane, died about 15 years ago.

She kept in touch with her father Cyril as much as possible and was devastated when he died on December 23.

After his death, aged 86, Mr Wright was buried beside his wife at the same plot in the city’s crematorium.

As is traditional, the headstone was removed, for Cyril’s name and dates to be engraved on it, but a contractor mistakenly replaced it with the wrong headstone.

“I was just devastated,” Miss Wright said. “He was one of the most important people in my life.

“My children are really upset too – my eldest daughter was very close to my dad: he was due to walk her down the aisle in June.

“This has just made it all really raw again.”

She added: “I know mistakes happen, but I feel this shouldn’t have happened.”

After the News & Star spoke to funeral directors and stonemasons, we were told the headstone was being removed. A contractor at the site declined to comment, except to say that he had not been responsible and the mistake was being rectified immediately.

Miss Wright’s father’s headstone is not expected to be ready for another week.

First published at 12:47, Tuesday, 12 February 2013
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk