STAFF at Burnley mortuary today spoke of their shock and concern over complaints about the service and said: "We've got nothing to hide."

Bosses at the trust said they had completed the investigation into conditions at the mortuary at Burnley General Hospital after the family of an Accrington businessman complained he was kept under a dirty blanket on a rusty trolley when they went to identify his body.

Mum and daughter Christine and Helen Brear, spoke out following the inquest into the death of John Paul Brear, 56, at Rawtenstall Town Hall.

Helen, 28, said her father, a director of Olympic Fixing Products Ltd, in Metcalf Drive, Accrington, was in the morgue in October after he suffered a heart attack at the wheel of his car, which then crashed in Keighley Road, Laneshawbridge.

Miss Brear said she and her mother went to identify the body and were shown into a very small room she described as "like a shoe box" where the "stench was absolutely appalling."

But managers and staff at the facility at Burnley General say they offer adequate facilities which are well decorated and comfortable.

They have now invited the Brear family to contact them to discuss the case.

They said the complaints, which had been made during the inquest and not formally to Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust, was the first time they had ever heard of dissatisfaction from relatives.

Angela Brown, spokeswoman for the trust said: "The viewing room and waiting room are compact but do offer adequate facilities. The rooms are tastefully decorated and the waiting room contains comfortable seating and a floral arrangement.

"All areas are extremely clean and the rooms have been refurbished in recent years." Mrs Brear, 52, said her main complaints were that her husband was on a rusty trolley covered with a dirty sheet, that there were no flowers and there was a smell in the room.

However Bill Seed, pathology service manager, said that while there had been a problem with the drains which caused the smell, the problem had been resolved. He added: "While our facilities are perfectly adequate for a hospital mortuary, they may not necessarily compare with a chapel of rest." The inquest heard Mr Brear, of Quarry Bank Court, Leeds, hit the kerb and then a lamp post after suffering the fatal heart attack on October 26. No other vehicle was involved in the smash.

Consultant pathologist Dr Abdul Al -Dawoud, who performed the post mortem examination, told an inquest Mr Brear complained of feeling unwell and had suffered sickness and diarrhoea days before he died.

He had visited his doctor, who had diagnosed a virus. Mr Brear had previously had surgery for a hernia.

The court heard that on the morning of the accident Mrs Brear saw her husband at about 7am and he seemed fine. He died about four hours later.

Acting East Lancs Coroner Richard Taylor recorded a verdict of death by natural causes.