Sands handed £10k cash injection

Bereavement charity Sands Lothian will be able to help parents dealing with the Mortonhall Crematorium ashes scandal for another two years after receiving a £10,000 funding boost.

Edinburgh City Council yesterday confirmed it would make the emergency payment to the group, which first unearthed revelations that the ashes of new and stillborn babies were being cremated and later buried without parents’ knowledge.

Sands operations manager Dorothy Maitland said the donation would cover two years’ worth of rent for its office. The council’s contribution comes five weeks after city chiefs initially pledged to give financial support.

Sands staff feared for the future at the time, having run over an annual budget of about £95,000 in the face of unprecedented demand for counselling services.