A pensioner's funeral was delayed for 24 hours after a shooting in a hotel car park led police to blockade the area and cut off roads to the cemetery.

The hearse carrying Buddy Dryer's coffin was forced to wait nearby while family members attempted to reschedule his burial.

Mr Dryer's funeral procession made a U-turn on the approach to the United Synagogue's Waltham Abbey cemetery in Essex. Officers had cordoned off local roads near the grounds after a man was shot in the car park of a nearby hotel. The man, in his 20s, later died.

David Dryer, the late Mr Dryer's brother, said: "It was absolutely crazy. The shuls were very helpful. The police didn't want to know us. It was organised chaos.

"It was one of those experiences that I wouldn't wish anyone to go through.

"It's the first time any of us have heard of a funeral being delayed because we couldn't get into the grounds."

During the delay on Tuesday last week, the hearse driver waited in a nearby car park until he was given permission to drive into the grounds. The coffin remained in the cemetery overnight.

The funeral eventually took place the following afternoon but, with roads still blocked, attendees had to take a three-mile diversion.

Eric Lever, a cousin of the Dryers, said: "Buddy was a great practical joker and the main topic of conversation at the funeral was how really true to form this man's funeral had been. He would have been the last person to be upset by what happened."

Mr Dryer, who was 82 and a father-of-two, died in Lincolnshire, where he lived with his wife Rita. He was a garment manufacturer in London's West End, a member of Ilford United Synagogue and founded a local golf club.