Grieving relatives of a war hero are furious he will be denied his last wish to be buried alongside his wife.

Relatives of former Desert Rat Norman Theakston have been told that the family plot is officially full - because of a change in the law 23 years ago.

They were preparing to bury him tomorrow - but when the grave was opened they were told there was no room.

Nephew John Ackroyd was today furious nobody had told the family that a change in the law in 1977 meant that a plot bought to accommodate eight members of Mr Theakston's family could now only hold five people.

It means the only way Mr Theakston can be with his wife Doris is to be cremated and his ashes laid alongside her in Thornton.

Mr Ackroyd said today: "I'm speechless and numb about what's happened.

"No-one told us about the law change, we've had three family members buried in the grave in the past ten years.

"If my uncle had found out about this before he died he would have been devastated - he was absolutely in love with his wife."

The Ackroyd family grave in Thornton Cemetery was bought in 1963 by John Ackroyd's grandmother Ethel May Ackroyd.

She had hoped to be buried with her husband, two children and their partners.

Norman Theakston, 83, who served with the Desert Rats in World War II, died of a heart attack in his sleep on Friday and was to be the last of the six to be buried.

The grave was built with four chambers and was designed to hold two people in each. Ethel Ackroyd and her husband share the bottom chamber.

But the law change - introduced on health grounds - means coffins can no longer by laid side by side.

So when Ethel's children and one partner were buried during the 1990s they took the remaining space.

Now the only way to lay Norman to rest with his loved ones will be to cremate him and bury his ashes.

Mr Ackroyd, who owns The Meeting Place caf in Bradford's John Street Market, said: "We pay for the grave to be tendered and I visit it regularly so it wouldn't have been hard for them to let us know.

"If we'd have known we could have made other arrangements.

"I don't even know how my uncle felt about being cremated because we never had to talk about it."

He added: "Our vicar said he had never come across the problem before.

"There could be lots of other families in this situation."

A spokesman for Bradford Council cemeteries said: "We sympathise with the family but the law was changed in 1977, we've checked our records and confirmed the grave is full.

"Government changed the law, we wouldn't know what kind of publicity there was at the time but the Council wouldn't let people know."

Bradford funeral director Robert Morphet, spokesman for the National Association of Funeral Directors, said he had encountered the problem several times but added vaulted graves were rare.

He said: "It's something families should be aware of, if in doubt they should contact the cemetery.

"It would not say on the grave deeds how many people were to be buried there.

"This is sad for the family and has caused unnecessary distress."

A memorial service for Mr Theakston will be held at Thornton Methodist Church at 1.30pm tomorrow, followed by a cremation at Scholemoor Cemetery.

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