A bizarre dispute over a grave in which a man was buried by mistake could take at least a year to resolve, the Daily Echo can reveal today.

Hampshire church bosses will decide the future of the plot after a vicar left two grieving families outraged when he buried a man in the wrong grave.

John and Pauline Hood were devastated when they saw that Alan Povey had been buried in a plot that they had reserved for themselves next to their son Duncan's grave.

In a bid to recover from his blunder, the Rev Mark Bailey then upset Mr Povey's grief-stricken family by suggesting he be dug up and reburied elsewhere.

With neither family prepared to give up the plot, the debacle is now set to be resolved by a church court which will decide whether Mr Povey has to be exhumed.

However, both families have been told that could take at least a year to settle.

The Rev Bailey today apologised for the embarrassing mix-up and called it "deeply regrettable".

For more see pages 2 and 3 of today's Daily Echo