'Funeral scam' haunted my sister on her deathbed

Brian Allison travelled more than 200 miles from Manchester to Glasgow to scatter his sister's ashes on the family grave.

As he stood at the headstone in St Kentigern's cemetery, where his father, mother and three other siblings already lay, he took a moment to remember Anne.

Her final weeks had been "haunted" by an unexplained mix-up with the ashes of their mother, Patricia, who died in April 2023.

Several months after Patricia's death, at the age of 100, it emerged the family had been given the wrong urn by funeral directors who are now the focus of a major police investigation.

Five members of Brian's family lie in a plot at St Kentigern's cemetery in Glasgow

Brian and Anne discovered the error just days before they planned to return to Scotland to scatter their mother's ashes.

"We had them for five months, then I found out it wasn't my mum, it was a total stranger," said Brian.

"I'd been kissing this total stranger goodnight every night and obviously it's affected my mental health."

The siblings were informed of the error when they contacted Clydebank Crematorium after questioning the lack of paperwork they had received with the urn from the former A Milne Funeral Directors.

Brian said: "Anne called Clydebank Crematorium and we were told [my mum's] ashes were never collected and were still being held there almost a year after her death."

During this time, the family also learned that the bill for Patricia's cremation was still outstanding, despite the pensioner having purchased a funeral plan at the firm's Dumbarton office.

Anne had also taken out a funeral plan with the same company and found hers to be invalid too, prompting her to contact Police Scotland.

Patricia Allison, who died aged 100 in 2023, and her daughter Anne, who died this year aged 67

In May 2024, one of the largest ongoing financial police investigations was launched into the practices of the former A Milne Independent Funeral Directors.

Operation Koine is currently looking into more than 70 reports regarding practices at the firm.

Last summer two women, aged 37 and 55, and a 56-year-old man were arrested in connection with the investigation and released pending further inquiries.

Brian said the need for answers "haunted" his sister after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer last December.

"It affected Anne's health with the cancer because she was worried," he said.

Brian added that the knowledge he would be the one left to pay for her funeral, despite having a plan, weighed on her.

"Even on her deathbed in the hospital, she said to me, 'I'm sorry you've been left with this'."

The A Milne Funeral Directors office in Springburn has been closed down

Last month, police issued an appeal for anyone with concerns regarding the handling of cremated remains or pre-paid funeral plans with the former funeral directors - which also ran a premises in Springburn - to contact them.

Det Supt Robert Bowie told BBC Scotland News officers were working through "hundreds of lines of inquiry."

Since that appeal, police confirmed they had "received more reports which are currently being assessed".

Det Supt Robert Bowie revealed police have received hundreds of inquiries from people who dealt with the funeral directors

Brian Allison paid thousands of pounds of his own money for Anne's cremation after she died in August.

Her final request was to be brought back to Scotland, but Brian also has a memorial for both his mother and sister at his home in Manchester.

Brian said: "I keep a little shelf in the living room with candles and everything around the both of them.

"So [some of] the ashes I didn't put down today, they'll come back to Manchester and they'll be kept there in the house so that I know I can speak to the two of them."

He added: "I know it sounds strange when you're talking to a dead person but I talk to them every night.

"I say goodnight, I talk to them if I've had a bad day, tell them I love them."

Brian's sister Anne died in August, after he promised to continue their fight for answers

Anne, who was 67 when she died, had moved from Dumbarton to live with Brian following the death of their mother.

He said they had always been close growing up.

Losing both his mother and sister in the last two years has put a strain on the 62-year-old's mental health.

"When I'm at work I leave the mental health side of me at home, but when I'm not working I don't leave the house now."

Brian's final promise to Anne was to continue to fight for answers on what went wrong with the plans she and her mother purchased.

He said: "I'll carry this on until my dying day if I have to, because I think it's all wrong.

"It's not just my mum and my sister. It's all these other innocent people.

"You can't just let it go. To me it's not about the money, it's about respect."