The fiancée of a tragic rail worker has won a heartbreaking High Court fight against his Catholic mum to have his body cremated rather than buried.Transport for London worker Simon Comerford took his own life in February, aged 36, a year after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer - and soon after his death, his partner Toni Cameron began making arrangements for his funeral and cremation.But Toni - who is planning to have Simon’s children by IVF, having previously gained his consent to use his sperm after death - became embroiled in a bitter High Court dispute with church-going mother, Maria Comerford, who insisted her son should be buried and not cremated.Maria said that as a Roman Catholic she has a "strong preference for burial over cremation” and that the prospect of burning her son's remains has also triggered her deep-rooted phobia of fire.But Toni claimed Simon had been "estranged" from his parents for years and had made clear that he didn't want them in his life.Toni ended up applying to the court for a judge’s ruling that Simon’s body be released to her, that she can take charge of the funeral arrangements and that his body be cremated, with the ashes interred at her family plot at the Islington and St Pancras Cemetery.Toni claimed Simon had been "estranged" from his parents for years (Champion NewsExternal)For her part, Maria wanted Chief Master Karen Shuman to direct that Simon should be buried, maintaining that she and his father, John Comerford, should have the deciding say as his legal next of kin.But after a two-day court case - in which Toni told the court how she has planned for a coach and horses to carry animal-loving Simon on his final journey to the funeral - the judge ruled in favour of cremation, permitting her to “take charge of Simon’s body”.“Maria seeks burial, grounded on her religious beliefs and her own approach to grieving,” the judge commented, but noted that there was no evidence that Simon had religious convictions.“Maria’s beliefs are sincerely held - but they are her beliefs, they relate to her, but are not determinative of Simon’s wishes,” she said.She highlighted evidence that Simon went through a troubled childhood with his parents, with one friend disclosing that he was “kicked out of the family home at the age of 14”.“What the statements reveal is that he had a difficult childhood,” she told the court, adding that he had no contact with his parents in the decade before he died.“Even when he was diagnosed with cancer and had surgery - and then later had surgery on his hand - there was no contact between him and his parents. He had made a conscious decision to exclude his parents from his life.”By contrast, Simon had come to love and trust Toni and her family during their 15-year relationship, said the judge, adding that “unequivocally” she should be handed responsibility for taking charge of his body.“I am satisfied that he would have expected Toni and not his parents to take responsibility for matters following his death,” said the judge.“That’s the clearest conclusion one can draw from the evidence.”The conflict between the two women mainly turned on the issue of cremation or burial, with both agreeing that the funeral service can take place at St John the Evangelist Church, in Islington, which is attached to the primary school attended by both Simon and Toni.Friction developed in the month after Simon’s death when Toni took steps to organise his funeral, with a cremation to follow at Islington and St Pancras Cemetery, the court heard.The funeral arrangements came to a head during a “heated” phone conversation, during which Maria insisted that Simon should be buried and not cremated, and texted Toni “in terms which Maria accepts were upsetting and regrettable”.Maria went on to claim that Toni had no legal right to organise the funeral as she was not legally recognised as his next of kin and, although accepting that Toni could organise certain aspects of the funeral, she was still adamant that Simon must be buried.Putting Toni’s case, her barrister, Jamie Cockfield, said Simon and his parents had been estranged “for at least ten years” despite living relatively close to them in the flat he shared with Toni in Archway, north London.“Simon’s wishes were also clearly that his parents should have no involvement in his life - this is demonstrated by the 10 to 15 years of estrangement," he said.“This wish should extend to his death and Maria should not be involved in making decisions about his funeral, burial or cremation."Maria said her opposition was “in strong part religious in origin,” based on her family’s tradition as a Catholic family “following the Roman Catholic strong preference for burial over cremation,” her KC, Brie Stevens-Hoare, told the court.Key factors for the judge’s consideration were Simon’s wishes, the “reasonable wishes” of his family and friends, and crucially that “the body be disposed of with all proper respect and decency and - if possible - without further delay,” the court heard.Maria Comerford and her son Simon had been estranged for some time, the court heard (Champion News)Ruling in Toni’s favour, the judge said Simon’s mother had “little knowledge of him as an adult and little insight into his wishes,” while Toni and her family had been an anchor for him throughout his recent life.“I find his closest and most constant relationship in adult life was with Tony and her family, and that his estrangement from his parents was a long-standing reflection of his own choice,” she added.And although Simon had maintained close ties with his siblings, their relationship was “not as regular as suggested”.Since Simon did not leave a will, the responsibility for arranging his funeral would normally fall to his parents as administrators of his estate, said the judge, but the “clear deadlock” between them and Toni had triggered a delay which needed resolution.“It’s therefore necessary to appoint one person to take responsibility,” she told the court.“I am satisfied that Simon should be laid to rest in a manner which reflects how he lived and allows arrangements to be made without further delay. That points unequivocally to Toni.”The judge ended by making a ruling “passing over” Maria and John Comerford in favour of Toni for the purpose of taking charge of Simon’s body.If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.f you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.