London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 02, 2025

Funeral directors stopped for McDonald's with body in hearse

Funeral directors stopped for McDonald's with body in hearse

A mum-of-two has branded undertakers ‘disrespectful’ after staff stopped to eat McDonald’s with a dead woman still in the hearse.

Deborah Carlisle, 57, says she cried in anger when she spotted the funeral workers eating a Maccies breakfast last week in Aylesford, Kent.

She says everyone in the car park ‘stood there with their jaws open’ and ‘couldn’t believe what they were seeing’.

Deborah publicly shamed them by sharing photos showing a suited man carrying a McDonald’s takeaway bag towards the hearse and insisted that the deceased woman’s family shouldn’t be charged.

But Indian Funeral Directors said one of their workers is diabetic and had permission from grieving relatives to eat at the fast-food restaurant to stop his blood sugar levels dropping.

The firm’s head, Sanjay Shah, branded Deborah a ‘busybody’ who had ’caused havoc’ with her repeated calls and said the deceased’s family laughed off claims they should be refunded.

But Deborah, from Boughton Monchelsea, Kent, was not convinced and claimed she had had ‘no sympathy’ even if the man did have diabetes, because ‘other people can manage their disabilities’.


Deborah said people were stood ‘with their jaws open’ and ‘couldn’t believe what they were seeing’


The eyewitness has complained to the directors on the phone and has demanded the family are given a refunded


She said: ‘The whole car park was stood there with their jaws open. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

‘I thought maybe this was the person’s last wish, but I watched and one of them get out, walked in there, came out with the bag and dumped it on the dashboard of the hearse.

‘They stayed and started munching. I walked over and both of them were holding their burgers and I said it’s disrespectful. Disgusting. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

‘Imagine if one of the funeral cortege had come in to get a bottle of water or something and seen the coffin and them munching burgers.

‘When I called, I told them I think he should waive the fee for the customer. All day I was in total shock and I cried over it. It’s disgusting.’


But funeral director Sanjay Shah has dismissed Deborah as a ‘busybody’ and said the family allowed the worker to stop off for food due to his diabetes.


Deborah says he doesn’t believe Indian Funeral Directors’s explanation


Deborah said the undertakers waited in the busy car park for around 30 minutes before they drove off to present the coffin at the deceased’s family’s house.

She admitted even calling other local funeral directors to tell them about what happened before hearing the firm’s explanation.

Sanjay said Deborah called numerous times and claims she maintained her ‘rude’ stance, even after he explained the stop-off was for ‘medical reasons’.

He added: ‘She’s a busybody. She should mind her own business. We’ve done everything with the permission on the son and I don’t know why she’s pulling the strings.

‘She’s definitely not a nice lady. The way she’s spoken to me and threatened me. She said she’s going to be shutting my business down.

‘She’s been creating a big havoc in our office. She’d spoken to a few people until I got the call and I told her she didn’t know the full story, so I explained it to her.

‘We’re a respectable company. We’ve been doing funerals for 31 years. We are quite popular with the whole Asian and Indian community because we provide a special service.

‘Both of our staff woke up at 5am in the morning, cleaned the cars, loaded the coffin and had to leave very early because we had to take the coffin to the family’s house first.

‘To beat the traffic, we got to Aylesford early. One of our staff is a diabetic so they spoke with the son of the deceased and asked if it’s okay if they can have a bite to eat.

‘The family straight away said we can do that and said “there’s a McDonald’s off the motorway”, then you can make your way to us. They asked if they had stopped when we got there, and we told them and yes.

‘This lady tells us we are going to do the funeral free of charge and I’ve spoken with the son and he started laughing. He asked me ‘who is this lady?’ and said he will not accept it.’

But after hearing Sanjay’s explanation, Deborah remained unconvinced and still said that their behaviour was unacceptable.

She added: ‘It’s absolute bulls**t. Whatever type of diabetes he is, he knows when to have his food to avoid going into a coma.

‘Take a packed lunch and eat it discreetly, or buy your McDonald’s and go down a lane.

‘I don’t have any sympathy. I’ve got friends that have diabetes and they manage it. Both of them were stuffing their faces, not just one.

‘If they’ve driven all the way from London without eating the correct food to stop them from going into a coma, well they shouldn’t be driving anyway.’

Deborah posted her snaps of the incident to Facebook along with a link to the busy funeral director’s website.

She wrote: ‘Disrespectful. A hearse complete with coffin wreaths and flowers pars up to get a McDonald’s. People were astounded.

‘Waited to check if they actually ate it and told him it’s disgusting and disrespectful while he munched on his burger.

‘Then he drove off the wrong way round the car park to avoid my car.’

Deborah was a founder of the Madeleine Foundation, which handed out leaflets suggesting Madeleine McCann was not abducted.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
Texas Enacts Law Allowing Gold and Silver Transactions
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Elon Musk Critiques Senate Budget Proposal Over Job Losses and Strategic Risks
Los Angeles Riots ended with Federal Investigations into Funding
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Education Secretary Announces Overhaul of Complaints System Amid Rising Parental Grievances
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Trump Ends Trade Talks with Canada Over Digital Services Tax
UK Government Softens Welfare Reform Plans Amid Labour Party Rebellion
Labour Faces Rebellion Over Disability Benefit Reforms Ahead of Key Vote
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Host Lavish Wedding in Venice Amid Protests
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
North Korea to Open New Beach Resort to Boost Tourism Economy
UK Labour Party Faces Internal Tensions Over Welfare Reforms
Andrew Cuomo Hints at Potential November Comeback Amid Democratic Primary Results
Curtis Sliwa Champions His Vision for New York City Amid Rising Crime Concerns
Federal Reserve Proposes Changes to Capital Rule Affecting Major Banks
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Trump Escalates Criticism of Media Over Iran Strike Coverage
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
Big Four Accounting Firms Fined in Exam Cheating Scandal
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
Australia's Star Casino Secures $195 Million Rescue Package Amid Challenges
UK to Enhance Nuclear Capabilities with Acquisition of F-35A Fighter Jets
Russian Shadow Payments via Cryptocurrency Reach $9 Billion
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
×