BOURNEMOUTH council has been forced to close its mortuary after a dangerous chemical leak led to members of staff falling sick.

Officials have sent bodies to other places in Dorset and further afield to other local authorities because of the problem at Holly Tree Lodge, at the East Cemetery.

And some relatives have been unable to find out where their loved ones were taken and the council has issued an apology.

One elderly man contacted the Echo to say he had had a “hideous” experience following the death of his wife in hospital three weeks ago.

“I was told the mortuary was closed because of a dangerous chemical leak,” he said. “I didn’t know where she was which was awful.

“I’m on my own and I didn’t know where to turn, I couldn’t get any information.

“They told me arrangements were being made for the post-mortem to be carried out elsewhere, possibly in Southampton, Salisbury or Swindon. Then on Thursday they said it would be carried out in Dorchester.”

The man told the Echo that his wife’s post-mortem was due to be carried out yesterday - nearly three weeks after she passed away.

In a letter from the council addressed to the man who did not wish to be identified, it said that the mortuary had been closed since February 15 when “a number of staff members became unwell”.

The council declined to reveal the nature of the illness.

“Since that time investigations have continued to be undertaken to determine the potential causes that necessitated the closure. The local authority is doing everything they can to ensure the mortuary is fully operational as soon as possible,” the letter read.

The man added: “I haven’t been able to inform people about her funeral and the lack of communication has caused a great deal of worry. My wife has just died so I’m in a bad enough situation anyway without this making it so much worse. There must be a lot of other people affected in the same way as I am and I just think it’s totally wrong.”

Tony Williams, the chief executive for the council, said: “Investigation and remedial works are underway and it is anticipated that the facility will reopen in the near future.

“Alternative arrangements have been made so that post-mortems can be carried out elsewhere within the county and at neighbouring authorities. We have also endeavoured to update the families and partner agencies affected.

“Some inevitable delays to conducting post-mortems have occurred and Bournemouth Council and Coroners’ staff are working together to ensure these are kept to a minimum. We would like to apologise to the families of the deceased, and to others affected and thank them for their patience and understanding as we work to resolve this situation.”