A BARRHEAD couple who were victims of the Glasgow baby ashes scandal have created a lasting monument to their son’s memory.

Michelle and James McGhee have laid a gravestone in memory of their son, also James, in the town’s St Conval’s Cemetery and are hoping others will use the site to grieve.

The couple were two of those affected by the baby ashes scandal when they were just teenagers and, after years of fundraising, finally have a place to remember their son.

After James was born, the pair say they were kept in the dark about what happened to their son’s remains for 15 years before it was revealed that, like many others, his ashes were “put in the bin” at Craigton Crematorium, Cardonald.

Michelle said: “We never knew we had a choice, we were just told what was happening by the staff.

“As we’ve gotten older We now realise that we could have buried James ourselves. We are both Catholic and said we wanted to bury him but were told that just wasn’t done.

“Now we know that just isn’t the case.

“We had no choice at all. It was found that a lot of parents were signed to confirm things when they were still highly drugged and had just given birth to a dead child.

“I didn’t even realise we were even planning a funeral until they asked about music for the ceremony when I was still in labour. It was shocking.

“I asked to hold him but was told it would break all of his bones, so I never even held him.

“We were told we had eight hours before he started to decompose – not something for anyone to hear, never mind a 17-year-old first-time mother.”

Now, after years of fundraising and hard work, the family have a site where they can pay tribute to their son.

Michelle and James had to raise thousands of pounds to pay for the memorial, which they hope can help other parents from Barrhead and beyond, who have been faced with a similar situation.

They have also decided they will not put James’ name on the stone so the site can be shared with others, as well as installing a bench for families to visit in similar situations.

Michelle added: “We need this, more than anything, because it is somewhere to go. “His remains aren’t there but this is peacefulness for me as well. “We have not put James’ name on the stone, which gives other people the chance to come and use the site for themselves. It could help them in their grieving process. “We were totally abandoned but we have raised funds so that we can invite other parents to grieve there with us and make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to them.

“All of the other parents from Craigton, some of whom we are friends with now, have been very supportive of the idea.

“James’ birthday was last week and we were hoping that the stone would be up by then, but the carving has been done now and installed.

“All the scandal stories have been terribly sad and it would be good to say that we now have somewhere that people can go to.

“The pitch is in St Conval’s. We recently moved to Barrhead so this means we can just wander down at night and make sure that it is well kept. We can have the family there to look over him.

“Now we have four children and have settled well here. I’ll never get to pick his school, his shoes, but I can make sure that his memory is done properly and he has somewhere to rest.”

The McGhees’ decision to ensure the plot is kept as a space for families to grieve has been praised by a charity supporting families struggling with their baby’s death.

Brenda Murray, the founder and chairwoman of Bumblebee Babies, which supports grieving parents seeking closure, said: Bumblebee Babies was launched less than two years ago and supports parents with the costs and practicalities with finding closure. Founder and chair of charity Bumblebee Babies, Brenda Murray, said: “This is a wonderful gesture for the babies and a great way for parents to heal as well.”