A student from Caerphilly has been forced into debt to pay for her father's funeral.
Cerys Evans' dad Lyndon died on May 29 from sepsis and pneumonia.
The 20-year-old's pain of losing her dad at a young age was made all the more worse because she was not able to visit him in hospital because of coronavirus restrictions.
But there was further devastation to come for Cerys, who is her dad's only next of kin, when she found out she would have to borrow thousands of pounds to pay for Lyndon's send off.
The UK Government will help the families of deceased people through the “funeral expense payment” which can offer up to £2,000 for basic costs.
However because Cerys, is a full-time student and is not on benefits, she is not eligible for the payment.
“I am my dad’s only next of kin, meaning that any decisions and funeral arrangements came down to me,” said criminology and psychology student Cerys.
"When it came down to organising the funeral, I assumed as a full-time student, I would be able to apply and claim the funeral expenses payment as I earn under the threshold and I am obviously in full-time education. However, I was rejected for this fund as I do not claim benefits. As a full-time student, I cannot claim benefits.
“I am now financially unstable.......I am struggling to pay my own phone bill.”
The whole process has meant that Cerys has not been able to focus on grieving for her father, who died aged 51.
“He went into hospital with suspected liver problems and caught sepsis and pneumonia,” she said. “When Dad died it was quite unexpected. With coronavirus I couldn’t go and see him at all.”
Her experience has been really tough for Cerys, but she is determined that some good should come from what has happened. She has started a petition to try to close the loophole to allow students to also be able to access the fund.
You can sign the petition here.
“The experience has also led to me struggling massively with my mental health whilst trying to grieve.
"It is not fair that the government encourages young people like myself to go to university. However, there is no further support for students who are next of kin. I have spoken to many students who have been in the same situation as myself, and they are still suffering with the debt today.
“I have started a petition to ensure students can claim this fund, my dad’s funeral was very basic, there was no wake because of Covid-19 and it cost £3,035.
“That was without the cost of flowers and the burial fee for his ashes, which I currently cannot afford due to the amount of debt I am now in, the debt will stay with me for a very long time.
"The funeral expenses payment would have massively helped with these costs, I want to make sure other students don’t have to face this problem.”
