More than 140 Aberdeen baby ashes scandal claims being assessed

Solicitors representing families affected by the baby ashes scandal in Aberdeen are looking at more than 140 cases.

A total of 143 cases involving Aberdeen's Hazlehead Crematorium are now being dealt with.

Baby and adult ashes were mixed together at the crematorium and given back to relatives of the adult. The parents were told there were no ashes.

Aberdeen City Council said the deadline for claims was Wednesday afternoon.

The council announced in December last year that it had approved a new financial compensation scheme for those affected.

BBC Scotland revealed in 2013 that no ashes had been offered to the families of infants cremated in Aberdeen over a five-year period.

It followed similar revelations about Mortonhall crematorium in Edinburgh, which had been secretly burying baby ashes for decades.

A report into the scandal by Dame Elish Angiolini described the practices as "abhorrent".