Baby ashes memorial to be built in Shrewsbury
A permanent memorial to babies whose ashes were lost at a Shropshire crematorium is being commissioned.
A BBC investigation found 60 families did not have their children's ashes returned after cremations at Shrewsbury's Emstrey Crematorium between 1996 and 2012. Shropshire Council asked the parents for feedback on a design featuring an angel cradling a baby. It is now looking for stonemasons to build the sculpture. It is hoped the piece will be situated in The Dingle, within Shrewsbury's Quarry Park, and in place by the end of the year, with a bench provided by the British Ironwork Centre in Oswestry. Glen Perkins, who founded campaign group Action for Ashes, said he hopes it will be something "peaceful and respectful", where parents can go and sit and remember their children. His four-month-old daughter Olivia died from sudden infant death syndrome in 2007 and was cremated at Emstrey Crematorium. He said: "It also acts, as far as I'm concerned, in rendering the fact that this should never, ever happen again. "This is just more than a statue in a beautiful place, it is there as a mark of respect for all those babies and all the parents who have suffered." Following the initial investigation in Shrewsbury, concerns were then raised about more than 30 crematoria which led to a government review. Data released under Freedom of Information laws after the initial investigation showed the return of baby ashes was routine in some parts of the country but not in others. A government review led to changes in the way crematoria operate.