A REMORSEFUL thief who stole an undertaker's van containing the body of a Bury woman has said "sorry".

A letter of apology and the keys to the silver Mercedes were pushed through the letterbox of Fred Hamer Funeral Services a few hours after the vehicle and the sealed coffin were recovered intact in Deal Street, Bury.

Grieving relatives of Mrs Anne Elizabeth Hamer were left shocked and stunned on Monday when they were informed of the theft of the Mercedes carrying her body.

The van had just returned from collecting Mrs Hamer's body from Hope Hospital in Salford where she died on April 21 after a brief illness.

Staff at the undertakers left the vehicle unattended -- and her body in the back -- at the premises in Walmersley Road. The vehicle was taken at 4.20pm.

The crime was immediately reported to the police who issued a nationwide force appeal while staff at the funeral parlour had to tell Mrs Hamer's sons of the theft.

Mrs Hamer had lived in Bevis Green, Walmersley, for the past 30 years.

The van and her body had been missing for more than 12 hours when police found the Mercedes parked and locked outside Excelsior Mouldings in Deal Street, Bury, at 5.45am on Tuesday. The coffin had not been disturbed.

Yesterday, friends and family gathered at Christ Church in Walmersley and then at Rochdale Crematorium to say farewell to the 69-year-old mother of two.

Mrs Hamer's sons said they were relieved that her funeral went ahead as planned and did not hold the undertakers at fault for the incident.

In a statement, Fred Hamer Funeral Services said: "The vehicle was found by the police several hours later and was recovered intact.

"The keys and a note saying 'sorry' were subsequently pushed through the letterbox."

It added that Mrs Hamer's funeral and those of other people had not been affected by the theft of the van.

The recovered vehicle has since been inspected by forensic experts and police are continuing their investigations to find the culprits.