Vicar apologies for grave mix-up

A vicar apologised to two families today after a murder victim was inadvertently buried in a grave reserved for another family.

The vicar of St John's Church in Walsall Wood, West Midlands, the Rev. Nigel Carter said he was now seeking advice from the legal office of the Diocese of Lichfield to find a solution acceptable to both families.

In a statement issued by the Diocese, he confirmed that the body of Daniel Hastelow, who was stabbed to death in Majorca, had been buried last Monday in a plot reserved by a local widow.

Earlier this year, a Church of England court granted a faculty reserving the plot for the widow of Michael Best, who was buried in January 2009.

The plot had been reserved by Mrs Best to allow them to be buried side by side.

But an administrative error led to the burial of Mr Hastelow's body in the reserved plot.

Mr Carter, who is now liaising with the Diocesan Registry, which oversees faculties, said: "I have privately apologised to both families and I would like to repeat that apology publicly."