A bereaved mother stopped her ex-husband from attending their son's funeral by lying and arranging it in secret, a court heard. Cathleen Hackney allegedly told two different funeral directors that there were no objections, including from her former spouse, to her son being cremated after his death. As a result no-one attended the early morning cremation of Paul Moreland in December 2010 after it  happened without his father's knowledge, jurors heard. Hackney, 56, is said to have deliberately 'pressed ahead' with her plans, despite knowing her ex, Paul Barber, would have objected. Cathleen Hackney, 56, is on trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court, pictured, in relation to the cremation of her son . Deborah Gould, prosecuting, opened the case against Hackney for jurors on the first day of her trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. 'This is an unusual and very sad case which involves the Cremations Act 1902,' she said. 'In a nutshell, the Crown's case is that the defendant told two different funeral directors, at two different times, that there were no objections from anyone, including Mr Barber, to her son being cremated and also signed two forms to the same effect. 'The Crown says that the first time she did this she simply didn't know whether Mr Barber objected to the cremation or not, as she hadn't bothered to ask.' Ms Gould alleged that by the time Hackney signed a second form she knew Mr Barber objected to any funeral which would involve the disposal of their son's body, unless he knew the details of where and when it was to take place. But, the court heard, the defendant  went ahead with the cremation despite Mr Barber's disapproval being made clear to her by his solicitors. Hackney, 56, denies one offence of making a false representation to procure the burning of human remains, and two counts of signing false certificates ahead of her son's funeral. Jurors were told that Mr Moreland was just 32-years-old when he died in hospital on November 11, 2010, from a long-standing health condition. His parents went through an 'acrimonious' divorce in 1983, but subsequent contact relating to their son was described in court as being marred by dispute and conflict. Hackney, who registered her son's death, is alleged to have instructed an undertaker on November 12, that Mr Barber was to have no involvement with any of the funeral arrangements. By November 15, the defendant is said to have been adamant that she did not want Mr Barber to attend the funeral, which was originally set for November 24. At one point amid mediation involving lawyers, Hackney, the Crown claims, met an undertaker and signed a form stating that no near relatives were unaware of the proposed cremation. But an undertaker then became 'troubled' and told Hackney he could not continue with the arrangements, leading her to dispense with his services. It is alleged she then went to another funeral firm and signed the second form on December 15, booking a cremation for her son's remains on December 20. During her opening speech, Miss Gould said of Mr Moreland's cremation: 'He was 'slotted in' early in the morning when people with no relatives are burnt. 'Mr Barber was not present at his son's funeral or cremation despite every effort to do so.' Mr Barber told the court he found out the cremation had taken place in a phone message left for him by a solicitor. Cathleen Hackney is alleged to have told Harry Dawson Funeral Directors in Normacot, pictured, that there were no objections to the cremation . Giving evidence from the witness box, he told jurors he learned of the cremation at 1pm on December 20. Mr Barber was then advised by a lawyer that he could seek a court order to stop his son's ashes being disposed of in his absence. 'He (the solicitor) applied for it but didn't get it through quickly enough,' Mr Barber told the court. Mr Barber contacted police shortly afterwards but Hackney was not interviewed until last December, when she asserted that he knew she intended to cremate her son and had not objected. Funeral director Wayne Packman also gave evidence to the trial. He said he had suggested the possible solution of having two separate services on different days for Hackney and Mr Barber in Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent respectively. But Hackney of Stoke-on-Trent then emailed the Co-operative funeral service's contact centre saying she did not want her ex-husband to attend the cremation or to have a separate service. The trial was adjourned until tomorrow. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
Cathleen Hackney accused of lying to undertakers ahead of cremation . Alleged to have claimed there were no objections to funeral taking place . Court heard her ex-partner was not told when and where the cremation was happening . Paul Barber only learned about his son's funeral after it had taken place .