A BLACKWOOD funeral home was fined a total of £1,500 yesterday after its managing director admitted misleading a grieving family over the cost of a funeral.

Keith Jones, managing director of the Woodfield Park funeral home, appeared at Blackwood magistrates and admitted five offences under Section 20 of the Consumer Protection Act for misleading the family of pensioner Charles Bromley over the cost.

Another two similar charges were dropped by Caerphilly county borough council.

When 70-year-old Charles Bromley, of Pontymister, died of lung cancer at Newport's Royal Gwent Hospital on August 9 last year, his family made arrangements with the funeral home at Penmaen.

However, Mr Bromley's son-in-law, John Griffin, became suspicious after the family were charged £2,000.60, which was £150 more than originally quoted.

Mr Griffin, aged 45, of Pembroke Close, Blackwood, urged Caerphilly county borough council's trading standards officers to investigate, magistrates heard.

Susan Eade, prosecuting, said when the family refused to pay the final bill because they felt they had been overcharged, the funeral home threatened Mr Bromley's 69-year-old widow, Milly, with court proceedings.

Llyr Williams, defending, said: "It can be put that these are matters of unclear invoicing where items have been left in or referred to as disbursements, when in fact they were services or costs undertaken by the company in relation to these costs."

He said administrative and mileage costs had crept into the fees apart from the fee for an obituary placed in the South Wales Argus which was only reduced at a later date because of a bulk-buying agreement with the newspaper. Mr Williams added: "This is a company that opened in September 1990 and it is the first prosecution and first- ever contact with the trades description department.

"They send their apologies for any distress caused because there was never any intention to cheat anybody out of money."

Chairwoman Marie Thomas gave the company credit for their early guilty pleas and fined them a total of £1,500 - £300 for each breach of the Act. She also ordered the funeral home to pay £600 in costs to the council. Following the hearing, Mr Jones refused to comment. Mrs Griffin, 44, a council employee, said: "When my father died I was already in a state of grief so I can't explain the feeling I had when it started going pear-shaped with his funeral. It has caused a lot of problems for my family."