A vicar has won permission to bury ashes that have lain unclaimed for months – after being left behind by a stag party during a day out at the races.

The urn, bearing the name of Gary Bonsor, was taken to Newbury Racecourse, Berkshire, on July 24 last year – and abandoned on the counter of a burger van.

Officials at the racecourse wrote to ticketholders from that date in a bid to trace the owner and published appeals on social media, ‘but nobody responded’, prompting the venue to pass the urn over to Thames Valley Police. 

According to minutes from a religious law hearing for the Church of England, the police made ‘numerous checks’ to trace the next of kin and contacted local crematoriums. 

But although police believed they had found the right family, they ‘denied any link to the urn’. 

Without any further leads, officials contacted the nearest church – St Mary the Virgin, in Greenham – to ask if it could provide a ‘permanent resting place’.

The ashes were duly handed over last September to the quaint Grade II-listed church, which lies around a 10-minute drive away from Newbury Racecourse.

Reverend Gail Minter, who applied for permission to bury the ashes, told a hearing on June 21 at the Consistory Court of the Diocese of Oxford, which has the power to grant the burial of ashes, that it would ‘not be inappropriate’ to lay Mr Bonsor’s ashes to rest within the church grounds.

She said: ‘The churchyard is well used, well-kept, and is full of the graves of local people, many of whom did not profess a Christian faith or come to church so we feel that although we cannot know the wishes of the deceased or the family, it would not be inappropriate to bury the remains in the parish churchyard.’

The officials were also shown photographs of the urn, which bears the wording ‘RIP Gary Bonsor’ alongside a second engraving stating, ‘My Dad, My Hero’.

Granting permission for the ashes to be buried, the Worshipful David Hodge, chancellor of the Diocese of Oxford, said: ‘In the unusual circumstances of this case, and with no registrar’s certificate or coroner’s order available, I well understand why the vicar should seek the authority of a faculty. 

‘It is clearly appropriate that the urn containing these ashes should be reverently laid to rest within the churchyard in accordance with the rites of the Church of England; and that the place and circumstances of the burial should be recorded on the churchyard plan. I grant a faculty for this purpose.’

The church has now been given 28 days to bury the urn within its grounds.  

In a statement to the Daily Mail, Newbury Racecourse said: ‘The urn was discovered after a summer raceday. 

‘We believe the urn had been brought to the raceday as part of a stag party celebration and had been left at one of the Racecourse’s temporary food units.

‘Once the urn was received by the Racecourse attempts were made to reunite it with family. Unfortunately, despite these efforts, which included reviewing all attendees, contacting a crematorium and appeals on social media, the urn remained unclaimed.

‘The Racecourse reached out to the police who suggested they take possession of the urn. As far as the Racecourse is aware the urn remained unclaimed whilst with the police.’

It added that the venue ‘often’ receives requests for ashes to be scattered at the site and a memorial garden ‘believed to be the first of its kind at a UK racecourse’ has been developed for this purpose.

A Thames Valley Police spokesperson said: ‘In September 2025, an urn containing ashes was handed in at our front counter in Newbury. The urn was labelled with the name Gary Bonsor.

‘Officers carried out a number of enquiries in an effort to locate any next of kin and reunite the ashes with the deceased’s family; however, these attempts were unfortunately unsuccessful.

‘Arrangements were therefore made with a local church to ensure the ashes would be cared for respectfully.’

Anyone with information should contact police on 101, quoting reference INC-20260629-1649.