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A grieving family and packed funeral congregation were left horrified when a pornographic video was accidentally played during the service.

Hundreds of people gathered at Thornhill Crematorium in Cardiff to pay their respects to Simon Lewis, 33, and his baby boy, Simon Lewis Jnr, who were killed in a head-on collision.

Mr Lewis died in the crash on New Year's Eve on Lamby Way in Cardiff.

His pregnant wife and their three-year-old daughter were also in the car at the time.

Three days later, following concern about the couple’s unborn baby being in distress as a result of the collision, Simon Jnr was born by emergency Caesarean Section at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff.

He died in hospital later the same day.

(Image: South Wales Police/PA Wire)

Mourners at Wednesday's funeral described their shock after a crematorium blunder saw pornographic footage played by accident, instead of a tribute made in remembrance of Mr Lewis.

Cardiff council, which runs the crematorium, has launched an urgent investigation, reports Wales Online.

“It was absolutely disgusting, the priest turned around to play the video of Simon, but instead a hard-core pornography video was played on the big screen," said a funeral-goer, who wished to remain anonymous.

“Everyone was in shock, Simon’s father-in-law was furious, he shouted at the staff present and told them to turn it off.

“It took them nearly four minutes to turn it off, people couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

“To the priest’s credit he handled it extremely well. He apologised on behalf of Cardiff Council and said that in 30 years of doing the job, he had never seen such filth.”

Reverend Lionel Fanthorpe, who led the funeral service, said: "I remember looking up at the screen and seeing some type of video came on and a very loud noise.

"I look at my congregations instead of the TV screen, but when I heard this noise and members of the congregation moving towards the screen, I realised something was wrong.

"Members of the family were very distressed, and Simon's father-in-law was desperately upset.

"Thankfully an engineer came to fix it and turn it off. It seems to be some kind of electronic accident.

"I was extremely saddened for the family at losing Simon and the baby, and this was not what anybody could have ever imagined or wanted. My heart goes out to all the friends and family present."

A spokeswoman for the family said: "An unfortunate situation occurred today at the funeral of Simon Lewis and Simon Lewis Jnr which was beyond the control of family, friends and the funeral congregation. Until the investigation has finished in its entirety there will be no further comments from the family."

A Cardiff council spokesman said: "We are carrying out an urgent investigation. There were four television screens used.

"The TV screen that showed the inappropriate content was recently installed, to replace the one that was broken.

"We are trying to establish whether the smart TV could have picked up a broadcast by accident from Bluetooth or a Wifi connection. The other TVs were not affected.

"We are clear that it is not possible for any member of staff to play or download anything onto the computer to be shown on the screen.

"The screen has now been disconnected. We would like to take the opportunity to extend our sincere apologies to the family and friends."

A spokeswoman for James Summers & Son, the funeral directors, said: “We are currently unclear on how the video was placed in the player at the crematorium, but we have asked Cardiff Council to launch a full investigation into the matter.

“As the funeral director for this service, we would like to offer our sincere sympathies and apologies to the late Simon Lewis’ family for the additional upset they experienced during today’s service.

"As the crematorium operator, Cardiff City Council facilitated the digital display of the images during the service.

"We have requested that they launch a full investigation to explain to the Lewis family how such a distressing incident could happen and we remain in contact regarding this.”

: A man has appeared in court charged with causing the deaths by dangerous driving of Mr Lewis and his newborn son. Kyle Kennedy, 29, of Harris Avenue, Rumney, Cardiff, will appear at Cardiff Crown Court next month