A bereaved brother has condemned Brighton & Hove City Council after contractors disposed of his dead sibling's belongings before he could collect them.
Simon Byrne was left devastated when he discovered most possessions belonging to his brother Chris, who died from a drug overdose aged 29, had been thrown into a skip from his temporary council accommodation.
"It's made the grieving process more difficult," Byrne told GB News.
"It's caused a great delay of anguish in the lead-up to a completely unexpected funeral for a 29-year-old young man," he added.
Byrne had arranged an appointment with council officials to collect his brother's possessions.
Upon arrival, he found the accommodation had already been cleared, with just a small suitcase remaining in the caretaker's building.
Simon Byrne hit out at the council for the 'anguish' caused
GB NEWS
"When I initially identified myself to them, they pointed to a small suitcase in their cabin which really baffled me," he explained.
"I thought, 'this is not it'. I asked to go and see his room and there was nothing. I was baffled. I had arranged the appointment."
The contractors then directed him to a large skip containing all his brother's belongings.
Determined to salvage what he could, Byrne made the difficult decision to climb into the skip himself.
Byrne joined Ben Leo on GB News
GB NEWS
"I went away for a short while then thought I had to go back. I thought 'you know what, this is the only chance I have'," he said.
He managed to find only a few small items, including a library card bearing his brother's signature.
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"The rest of his things, including his bracelets and other tangible memories, had been thrown into a skip with no opportunity for me as his only surviving family member to go through them," he explained.
The experience was humiliating for Byrne, who was left with virtually nothing to remember his brother by.
Brighton and Hove City Council has acknowledged the error - but blamed a contractor who no longer works for the authorityGOOGLEBrighton & Hove City Council has acknowledged the error occurred during property cleaning by a contractor who is no longer employed by them.
"During the process of cleaning the property and making it suitable for the next of kin to visit, some items were unfortunately disposed of by our cleaning contractor," said Gill Williams, the council cabinet member for housing and new homes.
Williams expressed understanding for the family's distress.
"We do understand how important someone's belongings are to their friends and family and apologise for any additional distress and upset this caused in relation to this very sad loss," she added.
