“THEY robbed us of the chance to say goodbye.”

Those are the emotional words of a Hampshire mum who claims a funeral home left her late grandfather looking “unrecognisable” in his coffin.

Crystle Kinch, 30, and her family were left disgusted by the way Waterside Funeral Home, in Hythe, treated Army veteran Rodney Latter following his death earlier this year.

The 72-year-old died after suffering a stroke, but Crystle claims staff at the parlour left him looking like “he’d been in a car crash” and that he could only be identified by a distinctive tattoo on his arm.

Now the distraught family have been awarded thousands of pounds in compensation by the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) following an investigation – but they are still awaiting answers and an apology from bosses at the home after being “put through hell” during the ordeal.

Mother-of-four Crystle says the verdict does not make up for the emotional trauma caused to her grandmother, Eileen Latter, who was married to Rodney for 50 years.

Mrs Latter suffered a heart attack shortly after her husband’s death and the shock of seeing his disfigured face caused her to suffer further heart problems.

Youth worker Crystle, of Eyeworth Walk, Dibden, said: “They didn’t let us view the body for a week, but I eventually went with my aunt and my grandma. She went in alone at first and came out saying ‘That’s not him’.

“We really thought the wrong body had been dressed in his clothes. Not one of us knew who this man was.

“It looked like he’d been in a car crash. His nose was bent, his eyes were sunken, his face looked like it had been painted like a Saints shirt in red and white stripes and he had a deep cut just above his upper lip.

“We only identified him because of a tattoo of a dagger and roses he had on his arm and the fact he had the top of his left ear missing.

“This image has haunted my gran ever since they robbed us of the chance to say a proper goodbye and give our grandad the send-off he deserved.”

Mrs Latter added: “I will never forget the man I saw in that coffin. Whenever I close my eyes, I see him. It’s not the man I know and loved. They have put us through hell.”

Mr Latter died on February 14 and was laid to rest at Beaulieu Cemetery in the New Forest on February 28, before the long legal battle began to claim compensation from Waterside Funeral Home.

That case has now been settled, with the traumatised family receiving a substantial compensation package, the exact sum of which cannot be revealed by the Daily Echo for legal reasons.

“It was never about the money,” Crystle added.

“All we wanted as a family was for them to tell us what happened and apologise. Not once have we got answers and not once have they said sorry.”

A spokesman for Waterside Funeral Home said they were working with Mrs Latter to create a suitable memorial for her late husband.

They added: “We are extremely saddened by the comments made, as we always take extreme care with every single person we look after when preparing them for their funeral.

“We recognise it is a difficult time for people who have been bereaved and that they may not understand that people do not look the same in death as they do in life. We can categorically state that at no time was the deceased mistreated in our care.”