A FAMILY have been left broken-hearted when they arrived at Altrincham crematorium to find the rose bush in memory of their family members was not there.

Since the death of their sister, they have leased a rose bush from the crematorium rose garden with a named plaque in her honour.

In 2016 their mother passed away, and they decided to purchase another plaque in honour of their mother to be attached to the same rose bush.

In April this year, the family - who do not want to be named - received a renewal letter which advised that they will not be continuing any of the leases due to the continual failure and replacement of the bushes but failed to advise a date.

The family visited the crematorium office in May to discuss the matter and still no specific date was given.

A member of the family said: "Last week a relative visited the crematorium to find that the rose bush had been removed - we called up to see what had happened and they advised that it had been taken down and they would post the plaques. One day a representative from the Crematorium came, they posted them through the letter box and drove off with no letter or apology.

"This rose bush was the focal point for our family as we live and work across the globe - now I feel really disheartened and we have nowhere to go. They didn't think about the sensitivity of the issue, how it would affect us as a family or advise us of any alternatives."

A spokesperson for the council said: “The Council offers its wholehearted apologies to the family that they did not receive a date for their plant’s removal. We acknowledge that this has caused them distress, and we are sincerely sorry for that. We will endeavour to improve our service and have already put measures in place to ensure this does not happen to anyone else in the future.

“The Memorial Rose Garden at Altrincham Crematorium has been in existence for over 20 years. Due to a decline in requests for this type of memorial we stopped offering it as an option in 2015.

"The roses were traditionally leased individually for a 5-year period, and we are contacting families who are approaching the end of their leases to inform them we are sadly not in a position to offer a new lease and the rose, or plant, will be removed.

"The plaques which accompany the roses were going to be posted back to individual families, however, in this case a member of staff hand delivered it instead.

"We intend to redevelop the area once the majority of the leases have expired, using an alternative scheme that offers a dignified tribute to people’s loved ones. We will engage with as many of the crematorium’s current users as possible before deciding what is best suited to the space. Any new scheme will only take place above grass level so not to disturb any cremated remains interred in the garden.

"We are in the process of setting up a Friends group for both the crematorium and cemetery which will give people the opportunity to get involved in plans for the future for the garden."