Funeral director thanks public for helping push hearse through snow

Martin Morrell, from Walker & Morrell Funeral Directors, has praised the kindness of dozens of people who came out of their homes to help when the vehicle got into difficulty on a steep road.

The 36-year-old from Philadelphia in Houghton, said the hearse and the limo he was driving were on their way to a customer's home in Birtley when the incident happened.

He said: "We were trying to get to a customers house for a funeral when we got stuck up a bank on Birtley Lane.

"But a load of people came out of their houses and helped us.

"A couple of people pushed the hearse and four people pushed the limo I was driving.

"We wouldn't have got there if it wasn't for those people.

"We told the family at the time and they were really grateful.

"I have never seen anything quite like it, all of those people coming out of their homes to help. It was really nice."

A post on the Walker & Morrell Funeral Directors Facebook page read: "We would like to say a big thank you to Sunderland Council for helping to clear the snow from our Washington branch this morning.

"They made sure our fleet got out on the road for the funeral of the late Margaret Wilding.

"We would also like to say a massive thank you for the community spirit in Birtley, when around fifteen residents helped push our hearse which was stuck in the snow.

"Margaret’s family are extremely thankful."