Cilla Black’s family have blasted "ghoulish" fans who crashed her private burial.
Several members of the public forced their way into the late star’s private burial following her televised church funeral on Thursday (20.08.15), with one man, Shane Robinson, taking photos and videos of her coffin and service which he later uploaded to his public Facebook page, angering the 72-year-old showbiz legend’s friends and family.
A spokesman for the family said: "Having given unprecedented public access, we asked that the burial was to be private for the family.
"The media respected that 100 per cent. For someone to do this is not only disrespectful but also ghoulish."
Shane, 24, – who was accompanied by his mother, another woman, a man and two dogs – defied the family’s wishes, and reportedly upset several of the guests at Liverpool’s Allerton Cemetery, where Sir Cliff Richard, Sir Tom Jones, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jimmy Tarbuck and Jo Wood were all present.
A source told The Sun newspaper: "They were told to stop filming and taking pictures repeatedly. Then were politely asked to go which they did. But their presence upset many of the guests."
Another insider said: "It’s a disgrace. After Cilla’s family were so generous in allowing her fans to mourn with them, to have these individuals defy their wishes in such a tasteless way is unbelievable.
"Andrew, Jimmy and Jo were upset enough after saying goodbye to a dear friend without having to deal with callous idiots using her funeral as a star-spotting day out."
Meanwhile, Cilla – who topped the UK album chart on Friday (21.08.15) with her greatest hits collection ‘The Very Best of Cilla Black’ – has drawn unprecedented crowds to the cemetery since she was buried, with staff considering bringing in extra security to deal with the demand to visit her grave.
One worker told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "We’ve never seen anything like it. People have been coming non-stop since she was buried.
"It went on late into Thursday evening, and hasn’t stopped all day today. We might have to put extra staff on soon to cope."
Cilla Black’s burial invaded by fans
