A family has hit out after a Nottinghamshire prisoner was banned from his mother's funeral.
Troy Colbert was jailed in January to eight years in prison for his part in a conspiracy to supply class A drugs, an operation which police spent three years dismantling.
His mother Susan Cliff passed away in April after she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lung, liver and bowel cancer only a couple of months before, Derbyshire Live reports.
Jade Colbert, 31, said the system is "spiteful", adding that her brother hasn't been given the space to grieve for his loss while he has been locked up.
Miss Colbert said her brother "knows what he's done" and has been living with the remorse, but she believes preventing him from "saying goodbye" to his mum is "cruel".
A spokesman from the Ministry of Justice said: "All offenders must follow national guidelines on attending funerals to protect the NHS."
Miss Colbert said: "There's no-one more important in our life than our mum, Troy doesn't have a dad, she's all he's got.
"I find it really spiteful, all he wants to do is say goodbye to his mum.
"He's broken with the fact that he can't even grieve, he can't begin to sit there and process what has happened.
"They are saying he can't come because of coronavirus, my mum had cancer she didn't even die of coronavirus."
While Mrs Cliff, 65, lived out her final days, Miss Colbert said her mum remained "heartbroken" that her son was in prison.
Miss Colbert said: "He wasn't allowed to come and see her while she was still alive, it's mind-boggling to me.
"It happened so fast, it was really difficult especially for me because I cared for her until the end.
"We are close as a family, mum was our mum and dad, she was everything."
Mr Colbert is serving his sentence at HMP Ranby, in Nottinghamshire.
She said: "He knows he's locked up, she was given three months to live and while he was in jail she died, it was very fast.
"He never even got a chance to say goodbye to her, it's all been taken away."
The funeral has been arranged for Friday, May 15 when she will be cremated.
Miss Colbert said she went to the funeral home and was told there is a separate room where her brother could sit and watch the ceremony take place, allowing them to social distance.
She said: "It's just one day, he just wants to watch his mum be buried, you are only allowed 15 people in the church anyway.
"He got a long time for what he did, it still isn't right, but he's still a good person, he was just doing what he needed to.
"He's a good dad to three kids, he did what he did to make a bit of money because he was struggling, it was a massive blow to us."
Due to the coronavirus lockdown, prison systems have had to adapt to halt the spread of the disease, with prison visits being temporarily suspended.
During the coronavirus pandemic, national guidelines state that offenders cannot attend funerals unless in exceptional circumstances, such as the death of a child.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said: "While we sympathise with the family during this difficult time, all offenders must follow national guidelines on attending funerals to protect the NHS and to save lives."
The Ministry added that chaplaincy support is available for bereaved prisoners.
