A HEALTH trust has apologised after a grieving daughter was presented with locks of hair and a hand print from her late war hero dad.

D-Day veteran Thomas Campbell, from Hawkshead, died in Furness General Hospital after complications following a fall out of his bed.

But when bereaved daughter Julie Metcalfe, from Kendal, arranged to collect the 97-year-old's death certificate from the hospital bereavement office she was given an envelope with no explanation of what was inside.

When she got home and opened it with her mother Sarah, she was shocked to discover five locks of hair in small bags, her father's hand print and a wooden butterfly.

The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust does offer this service but Mrs Metcalfe is adamant the family did not ask for it and that her father would not have wanted it.

Now, the trust has promised to investigate.

"I just did not believe it," she said. "I think for mum it was just an outlet, she had cried but not properly. She just sobbed. She was just absolutely distraught that they had done such a thing and not asked. If they had asked we would have said no."

She explained that she felt like it had been akin to an 'assault' on her father's body and that no family member had been asked if Mr Campbell's hair or hand print could be taken.

She added that her mother and three sisters were all 'horrified' that it had taken place and it had made the grieving process more difficult.

"Not one of us would have wanted it and my dad would not have wanted his hair to be cut off to be given to us," she said. "Doing it without permission is just awful."

Mrs Metcalfe said that she understood that some parents who had lost babies might want to be given keepsakes such as handprints to help with the grieving process.

"I have heard of it for babies," she said. "And that would help with the grieving for some people. Some people could cope with that if they were given the opportunity, if they were asked what they wanted then it's wonderful.

"But there's nobody I have spoken to who has heard of the same thing happening for adults."

In a patient information leaflet titled 'When Someone is Dying', University of Morecambe Bay Hospital Trust outlines that it does offer mementoes to families.

"A lock of hair or a hand print can be a treasured bereavement memento for some people," it states. "If this is something you would like to consider, please speak to the nurse in charge."

However, Mrs Metcalfe is certain that it was not something that any of the family had requested and she is convinced her father would not have wanted it.

Mr Campbell was a D-Day veteran who received the Legion d'Honneur award for his service in the June, 6 1944 Normandy landings. The honour is the highest decoration given in France.

During the war, Mr Campbell was a sapper whose role was to detect and disarm enemy mines.

He came through his service with the armed forces without any physical injuries after being called up at just 20 years of age.

Mrs Metcalfe, 61, has written to the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust to express her frustration.

"This is totally unacceptable, and I know my father would not have wanted this to have happened to him, and I know for a fact that my mother does not approve of what has transpired," she wrote in her letter.

"Even though the hospital and its staff may have had good intentions in what they did, we should have been asked permission prior. In all honesty I think certain procedures should be looked at in future to prevent grieving family members having to endure any further heartache."

Lynne Wyre, deputy chief nurse at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, told The Westmorland Gazette: “On behalf of the Trust, I’d like to apologise to the Campbell family for any distress that the family may have experienced.

“We are carrying out an investigation to understand what happened and whether there was anything we could have done differently. Once the investigation is complete, we will feedback the outcome to the Campbell family together with information on the lessons we can learn from these experiences."

Mr Campbell was admitted to hospital in January after he displaced his hip in the fall. He had it put back into place but went on to develop flu and pneumonia.

His condition was 'up and down' in hospital but he went downhill 'very quickly' and died on January 28.