Mayor criticised over 'bad taste' crematorium press release (From Watford Observer)

Mayor criticised over 'bad taste' crematorium press release

11:27am Friday 21st November 2003 in

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WATFORD Mayor Dorothy Thornhill has been accused of a grave misjudgment after a recent visit to a crematorium.

Senior Labour officials this week labelled her comments "bad taste" during her tour of the West Herts Crematorium in High Elms Lane.

The squabble started after Mayor Thornhill and Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Watford Sal Brinton visited the crematorium, which had won a national staff training award.

According to a town hall press release, Mayor Thornhill said: "The heat is so fierce that everything except steel burns down.

"Noticeable in one box of remains was a metal hip replacement and a kneecap!

"These are extracted by a magnet and the remains are then ground into ashes."

Watford Labour Group leader Andy Head said: "I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but if you were reading this and had lost a loved one you could find it quite distressing."

Mayor Thornhill said: "The crematorium staff carry out their work with dignity."

The mayor said Labour's criticisms were a sign of their "desperation".