FIFE COUNCIL is set to compensate local families affected by the national baby ashes scandal.

The news comes after former Dunfermline woman Carol Howden called on the authority to provide a dedicated memorial to her baby and little ones from other Fife families who suffered similar experiences to her.

As reported by the Press back in 2013, Carol was 17 when her four-month-old boy, John, died of cot death in 1988.

Dunfermline Crematorium told her there would be no remains.

However, after watching the news about the nationwide scandal at Mortonhall Crematorium, she discovered that John’s ashes had also been scattered without her knowledge.

Back then she said: “To go more than half my life just to find out that somebody who didn’t care about him had dumped his ashes. Why would another human being do this?

“The grief that losing a child brings is one thing, this was a nightmare.”

Carol, who now lives in the Highlands, has said the lack of a dedicated memorial to her baby and infants from other Fife families who had suffered a similar experience to her own continued to be a source of distress and has requested a special memorial dedicated to all the affected babies.

Fife Council’s executive director for enterprise and environment, Keith Winter, said: “I’d like to apologise again to these families for the anguish and hurt they experienced because of our past practices. We have written to all the parents to apologise and to give them an assurance that these mistakes have been addressed.

“In Fife, we already have specific baby areas with memorials at our crematoria and four main cemeteries. These areas were developed and managed in conjunction with the charity, Sands.

“They have been laid out to allow parents a space to go to remember their children. We’d be happy to work with any parent who wishes to have their baby’s name added to any of these memorials or to adopt a different approach if that’s what they wish. We will arrange to meet with the families to discuss how we can best support them with this.

“Meanwhile, I want to reassure all parents affected that, while we cannot give an exact location, all ashes were scattered respectfully within the Gardens of Remembrance.

“A final settlement letter has been sent to parents following extensive correspondence with the solicitors representing the families.”