Aer Lingus returns Ballymena man's ashes in time for memorial service

The ashes of a man lost on a flight to Dublin were returned to his family just in time for a memorial service in Ballymena on Wednesday morning.

Sam Gilmour's ashes were returned to his son, Bob, after going missing on an Aer Lingus flight on Saturday.

Bob Gilmour had brought both his parents' ashes from Australia to be scattered in Ballymena and England where they grew up.

They got lost in luggage lost en route to Dublin.

Following a three-day search, the luggage containing the ashes was returned to the Gilmour family shortly before 09:00 BST on Wednesday.

Bob Gilmour and his son Declan with their returned luggage

This was in time for Sam Gilmour's ashes to be scattered at an informal family service at a cemetery just before midday.

Before their deaths, Mr Gilmour's parents had requested that their ashes be scattered in their respective birthplaces in the UK.

RAF veteran Samuel Gilmour met his wife in England

The ashes of his mother, Marjorie, who was from Birmingham, will be scattered in England later this week.

Mr Gilmour said his parents met in England during World War Two when they were both serving with the Royal Air Force (RAF).

They married and settled down in County Antrim, before emigrating to Australia in 1967 with their two sons.

Bob, who spent the first 11 years of his life growing up in Northern Ireland, said he was "mightily relieved" the ashes had been found.

Bob Gilmour's mother Marjorie was originally from Birmingham

"Thank you to everyone who helped us," he said.

Aer Lingus has apologised to the family for the inconvenience caused by the lost luggage.

On Tuesday, Mr Gilmour described the airline's response to the incident as "less than useless".

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme on Wednesday, he said his father would have found humour in the situation.

"Ulster people are famous the world over for being able to laugh in the face of adversity," he said.

"My dad would be laughing at this situation.

"My parents couldn't be anymore dead, this is just a closing thing."