Man Who Lost Dad's Ashes On Drunken Pub Crawl Reunited With Them After Binman Saves Day

A man accidentally lost his father's ashes after paying an emotional tribute to him by "getting drunk," much to his mother's shock.

The ashes of Stan Blade's father, Stephen Jewitt, who passed away in 2011 at the age of 60, were going to accompany him on "one last trip to the beach" and be featured in a TikTok video of him enjoying rides in Southend, Essex.

He eventually ran into some old acquaintances, though, and went on an impromptu nine-hour pub tour.

Blade didn't notice his error until he got back to his house and his stepmother Emma Hopkins asked: “Where is your dad?"

“She was not pleased with me at all, and I do not blame her,” he said.

Blade, who had lost the shopping bag containing the wooden box holding the ashes, stumbled in after consuming six cans of Stella and five pints of lager in a few of the local pubs.

Hopkins had previously told Blade that he couldn't remove the ashes from the home, but Blade sincerely wanted to give his father, who sadly passed away due to complications from alcohol abuse, a decent send-off.

The musician continued: "My dad was a really funny bloke and he would have absolutely loved the idea of me riding a roller coaster with his ashes by my side.”

“He had a good sense of humor, so I just wanted to do something to pay tribute to that as I haven’t visited my hometown in a while.”

“The idea was to take him to the beach and go on the bumper cars and get an ice cream, you know all the stereotypical things you do at the beach.”

“But I ended up bumping into friends and getting drunk along the seafront."

In an effort to find the ashes, Blade had to go back where he had come, including Chinnerys, The Cornucopia, and a hotel lounge on Marine Parade.

He later posted a video on TikTok asking for help finding his missing dead father, and on the morning of 18th March, a binman came by to collect the man's ashes.

It was found without the shopping bag, laying on a bin.

The road sweeper dutifully turned the casket over to Essex officers, who have been looking for Stephen's family ever since.

When police learned of Stan's situation and called him, he had been waiting anxiously for five days and had reached out to the media in hopes of receiving assistance.

Stan said: "When Essex police ring you, you automatically think, 'Uh oh, what's this about?'”

“The policeman said on the phone, 'We heard you've been looking for your dad's ashes?'”

"I'm just very grateful to the man who handed it in for me. My dad would think he was famous now if still here.”

"My step-mum Emma has calmed down now and I think she will see the funny side soon."