Funeral director Alistair Thomas, of Green Oak Funeral Services in Greenock, Inverclyde, says the number of bereaved families has been around triple what it usually is.

But he said restrictions on visiting families in their homes and the 30-minute limit on funeral services at crematoriums is having a real impact on people.

He fears mourners are left in a state of disbelief and the shortness of funeral services - and warned of an impact for years to come.

Green Oak Funeral Services say the number of bereaved families has been around triple what it usually is.

Mr Thomas said: "People aren't starting the grieving process at the moment.

"As the services are so short, people come out thinking 'what was that about?'.

"They don't believe the person has gone.

"People can't go and get a cup of tea and chat about the good times afterwards either.

"It's having a significant impact on people and families.

"This is going to be a huge psychological problem for years to come."

He did not want to put an exact figure on the number of people the home has looked after during March and April this year compared with last, but believes it could be as much as a three-fold increase.

And he said the restrictions were having an impact on his staff too, as they tried to provide a good service remotely.

He added: "The restrictions mean that we're not able to fulfill everything that families expect from us.

"Everyone understands that it's nothing to do with the funeral director but it's just such a shame.

"It's the face-to-face service that means so much.

"We build up a relationship when we meet families that you can't build up in the same way over the phone.

"Once we go into a house, we start a conversation about what the person was like, talking about golf or football.

"Families don't feel like they're getting asked a lot of questions.

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Funeral director warns of ‘psychological’ impact of families not having time to grieve properly

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