A furious family has spoken out after a funeral home let a father's dead body go mouldy for three days.

Jodie Langsford, 34, says she's been left "haunted" by the image of her dad Timothy's decomposing body after staff failed to look after his remains. The 65-year-old died on April 23 after having a heart attack. His devastated family organised for Central Co-op Funerals to take care of his body ahead of his funeral at the firm's branch in Stirchley, Birmingham.

However, as reported by the Mirror, Jodie was absolutely horrified to find he had rapidly decomposed and that she was allowed to see him in such a state when visiting her dad only a few days later. Timothy's body had already begun to deteriorate within three days of his death.

Mum-of-two Jodie was struck by the smell and blood on his cheek which hadn't been there when he died. She said: "When I went in, the smell of decomposition was horrific. I could practically taste it. He had a streak of blood across his face. I was in there for 30 seconds and managed to quickly kiss him on the cheek and run out."

Jodie's disturbing experience meant the rest of the family, from Birmingham, were unable to go see Timothy to say their final goodbyes. Her mother, Michaela, was left devastated at being unable to see her husband and feeling as though she had "failed him".

Timothy's body was kept by Central Co-op for nearly seven weeks in total, with the funeral not held until June, in which time he was moved to another branch and embalmed.

Jodie said: "We got a phonecall in May to say he had been moved to Kingstanding (funeral home). We were told we couldn't visit him because he had deteriorated too much."

Jodie returned once her dad had been embalmed. Horrifically, parts of him had already severely decomposed. Jodie said: "He had had mould on his cheeks and his skin. It knocked me sideways that they left my dad go mouldy. I feel haunted."

Jodie described Timothy as "the most dignified man" and said he "deserved dignity and respect". The sales worker said the family demanded to see reports from the home into how Timothy had been looked after, but were refused.

They were also charged for staff to take his fingerprints, which they had wanted for sentimental purposes, and later discovered that this was normally a free service. "I don't know what that was about," she added.

Jodie claims she later found out that, between June 2-6 - about a week before the funeral, her dad was not checked upon once. "In the end, he had to be put in two body bags," she said. "It was awful."

"We'll never know the true horrors of what happened," she added. "The image is still in my head." Jodie is now campaigning for tougher regulations to be brought in for funeral care in the UK, which at the moment is on a voluntary basis. "Something so important should be regulated.

"They take body after body after body knowing they couldn't look after them. We were told they were checked on every 24 hours. It's haunting. It's traumatising. I can't imagine ever knowing peace again after seeing that." You can sign Jodie's petition here.

The Mirror understands Central Co-op has since apologised to Jodie's family, offering a full refund. A spokesperson for Central Co-op said: "The loss of a loved one is a hugely distressing time and it is important that every family is able to pay tribute to their relatives.

"We are deeply saddened to hear this family’s experiences and we have been talking to them about this matter. We have been continuing these conversations with the family, so we can best understand what happened, provide support and resolve the issues raised.

"We are committed to supporting colleagues to provide high quality care and run annual training for funeral home teams. As a registered member of the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD), families can raise questions through them and we will always work to ensure we continue to provide the highest standards of care.

"It’s vital that funerals are delivered with the utmost sensitivity and dignity. We are supportive of any individual or organisation aiming to improve the way the funeral business serves families, and we welcome conversations about regulation across the industry."

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