Wales: Hardcore pornography played at funeral of man and newborn baby, leaving mourners in shock

Hundreds of mourners at the funeral of a young dad and his newborn son were left in shock after hardcore pornography was accidentally played on a TV screen at the service, instead of a video tribute.

The family and friends of 33-year old Simon Lewis and his baby son, who were killed in a New Year's Eve car crash, were forced to wait four minutes for the graphic footage to be turned off as staff at Thornhill Crematorium in Cardiff attempted to rectify the problem.

Reverend Lionel Fanthorpe, who was leading the service, told IBTimes UK: "It was a terrible tragedy; the young man had been killed in a car accident and his wife had then lost their baby son, who was buried in the same coffin.

"Some families opt for a visual tribute using TVs, and about 10 or 15 minutes into the service, one of the TV screens burst into loud sound.

"I'm looking out onto the chapel next to the screen and about 20 people were on their feet, and the father-in-law of the man who died rushed to the door that leads into the crematorium office shouting 'get that turned off'.

"It seemed to be a street scene of some kind, and the crematorium staff turned it off.

"It's awful and the family have my deepest sympathy. I can't imagine how his wife feels having lost her husband and baby."

In a statement, Co-operative Funeralcare on behalf of James Summers and Son, the funeral directors that organised the service, stated that Cardiff City Council had been responsible for the TVs that played the inappropriate film.

It said: "As the funeral director for this service, we would like to offer our sincere sympathies and apologies to the late Simon Lewis' family for the additional upset they experienced during yesterday's service.

"As the crematorium operator, Cardiff City Council facilitated the digital display of the images during the service. We have requested that they launch a full investigation to explain to the Lewis family how such a distressing incident could happen and we remain in contact regarding this."

Cardiff City Council, which runs the crematorium, confirmed that it would launch an investigation into the incident following the distress it caused to Mr Lewis' family and friends.

A City of Cardiff Council spokesperson said: "The Council has forwarded a written apology to the family and is carrying out an urgent investigation.

"There were four television screens used to display visual tributes as part of this funeral service. The television screen which showed the inappropriate content was recently installed, replacing a screen which was broken.

"We are trying to establish if the new screen – which is a SMART television - could have accepted or picked up a broadcast by accident via blue tooth or across a WiFi network. The other three screens which aren't SMART TVs were unaffected.

"We are clear that it isn't possible for any member of staff to play or download anything on the computer that links to the screens in the chapel. The screen has now been completely disconnected until audio visual engineers carry out a thorough investigation.

"We would like to take this opportunity to send our sincere apologies to the family and to the mourners at the funeral."

Mr Lewis' pregnant wife Amanda and their three-year-old daughter survived the 31 December collision on Lamby Way in Cardiff, but three days later the couple's unborn son was found to be in distress and died following an emergency C section, The Telegraph reported.