A woman has criticised 'disrespectful' undertakers after spotting them as they stopped to eat a McDonald's meal with the hearse 'occupied' - only for the funeral directors to hit back by calling her a 'busybody'.
Deborah Carlisle, 57, said she cried tears of anger when she saw the funeral workers eating breakfast with the hearse, sharing photos of a suited man carrying a McDonald's bag towards the vehicle in Aylesford, Kent, on 2 November.
Posting the images on Facebook, she said: "Disrespectful. A hearse complete with coffin wreaths and flowers pars up to get a McDonald's. People were astounded.
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"Waited to check if they actually ate it and told him it's disgusting and disrespectful while he munched on his burger.
"Then he drove off the wrong way round the car park to avoid my car."
Mum-of-two Deborah claims the whole car park was 'stood there with their jaws open', as the staff member walked out with the bag and 'dumped it on the dashboard of the hearse'.
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Deborah, from Boughton Monchelsea, Kent, said: "Imagine if one of the funeral cortege had come in to get a bottle of water or something and seen the coffin and them munching burgers.
"When I called, I told them I think he should waive the fee for the customer. All day I was in total shock and I cried over it. It's disgusting."
However, Indian Funeral Directors have claimed one of their staff members is diabetic, and had gained permission to eat from grieving relatives in order to stop his blood sugar levels dropping.
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Funeral director Sanjay Shah said Deborah has 'caused havoc' with her repeated calls - even adding that the deceased's family laughed off claims they should be refunded.
Sanjay said: "She's a busybody. She should mind her own business. We've done everything with the permission on the son and I don't know why she's pulling the strings."
He continued: "Both of our staff woke up at 5am in the morning, cleaned the cars, loaded the coffin and had to leave very early because we had to take the coffin to the family's house first.
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"To beat the traffic, we got to Aylesford early. One of our staff is a diabetic so they spoke with the son of the deceased and asked if it's okay if they can have a bite to eat.
"The family straight away said we can do that and said, 'There's a McDonald's off the motorway, then you can make your way to us.'"
Deborah - a founder of the Madeleine Foundation - remains unconvinced after hearing Sanjay's explanation of the day, saying she has 'no sympathy' for the worker as 'other people can manage their disabilities'.
She said: "It's absolute bulls***. Whatever type of diabetes he is, he knows when to have his food to avoid going into a coma. Take a packed lunch and eat it discreetly, or buy your McDonald's and go down a lane.
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"The family did not give him permission to go to the McDonald's. When I phoned [the undertakers] and he said he was going to phone the son, but I told them not to because it would give them a shock.
"I don't have any sympathy. I've got friends that have diabetes and they manage it. Both of them were stuffing their faces, not just one."
LADbible has contacted Metropolitan Police for comment.
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media