A grieving Fife family arrived for a burial to find no grave had been dug.
The shocked and stressed family then had to wait an agonising two hours until the problem was resolved.
Family and friends of great-great-grandmother Christina Livingstone Proctor, 93, arrived at the gates of Beath cemetery in Cowdenbeath after her funeral service only to find there was nowhere to lay her to rest.
The error meant the burial service, which was due to take place at 10.45am, only managed to go ahead at 1.15pm.
Heartbroken daughter Elizabeth McHale, who lives in Dunfermline, said the whole ordeal had been “horrible”, and had traumatised some of the younger members of the family.
The mourners, led by the grieving family, had to mill around the cemetery while Fife Council gravediggers were called to rectify the mistake.
Meanwhile, Mrs Proctor’s remains were taken back to the funeral parlour.
The lengthy delay meant a change of plans for the wake the family had organised at Cowdenbeath Bowling Club.
Told it would take at least two hours for a lair to be prepared, they decided to hold the wake before the burial.
Mrs McHale said giving a toast to her cherished mother before she was interred had been very upsetting.
Fife Council’s bereavement services manager Liz Murphy said the council was extremely sorry for the upset that this incident had caused.
“We are investigating the breakdown in communication that resulted in the grave not being prepared at the correct time.
“The funeral fees have been waived and we have been in contact to offer sincerest apologies,” she added.
But Mrs McHale, 62, said no amount of money could change that day.
She told the Dunfermline Press: “I just wanted to give mum a good send-off.”
