Son loses bid to stop disposal of parents' bodies

A man who is trying to stop a council disposing of his dead parents' bodies has lost his bid to take his case to Britain's highest court.

Melvyn Marcel, from Edinburgh, asked judges at the Court of Session on Friday for permission to have the UK Supreme Court hear his representations.

Mr Marcel is trying to stop Edinburgh Council arranging the funerals of his parents Eugenios and Hilda.

The bodies have spent the past 15 years in a city mortuary.

Build mausoleum

Mr Marcel was appealing against a decision made by Lord Mulholland at the Edinburgh based court earlier this year.

Councillors had gained permission from the judge to arrange a burial for the couple, whose bodies were discovered in a former fishmonger's shop in 2002.

The council argued that they had a statutory duty to dispose of the bodies.

On Friday, Melvyn, who wants to build a fridge in his home to place the bodies until he builds a mausoleum in the property, asked for permission to take his case to London.

Mr Marcel, who plans to take his parents bodies to be buried in the West Bank in Gaza at some future date, told judges Lord Carloway, Lord Brodie and Lady Clark of Calton: "It is a matter of public importance."

But the judges refused to allow the case to progress.

Lord Carloway said: "There is no arguable point of law in this case. No issue of public importance has been raised."