A mother was fined £86 at a crematorium because she spent too long at the funeral of her five-week-old baby, it has been reported.
Terrie Rouse wanted an extra 10 minutes with her son Zane's coffin before it disappeared through the curtains to be cremated.
Officials then charged her £8.60 a minute for the extra time at the crematorium in Crownhill, Milton Keynes.
The council later refunded the charge but this was an appalling display of insensitivity which upset the parents at the most terrible of times.
Ms Rouse, 32, told the Milton Keynes Citizen: "The vicar asked if I would like to spend a bit more time saying goodbye. I sat by the coffin for 10 minutes, telling my son how much we loved him and begging him not to be scared."
Zane's father, Lee Smythe, said the fine was "sick and disgusting".
He told the paper: "Terrie was weeping hysterically. She just wanted a few extra minutes to say goodbye to our much-loved little boy. How could anyone be cruel enough to charge for this?"
The baby had died at home in Milton Keynes, Bucks, from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in April.
Tests meant that the family then had to wait for three months before they could have a funeral.
Apparently Milton Keynes Council, which runs the crematorium, imposes an extra charge as a matter of routine if a funeral lasts longer than half an hour.
This is a particularly distressing case but it can't be nice for any family to be hit with a fine for remembering their loved ones.
The council says it refunded the charge because of "extenuating circumstances".
A spokesman said families are offered the chance to book extra time if they think they will need it.
"This means when funerals that have not taken up this option over-run, a fee is automatically charged," said the spokesman.
"However, when we learnt that there were extenuating circumstances we, of course, refunded the extra charge."
Source: AOL News