Brit woman sparks fury in Santorini after emptying 'ashes of a loved one' during walk through island's famed narrow streets

By PERKIN AMALARAJ, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 11:08, 1 June 2026 | Updated: 11:20, 1 June 2026 A British woman has sparked fury on Santorini after she allegedly emptied the ashes of a loved one on the Greek island's famed narrow streets.  Footage shared to social media showed the woman carrying a clear plastic container filled with what appears to be ash through the picturesque streets of Oia, on the north of the island.  She sprinkled the ashes as she and a group of other tourists walked by residents' homes.  The group were heard singing Bob Marley's iconic song 'Everything's Gonna Be Alright'. As the last of the ashes fell from the container, the group then burst into a round of applause.  It was reportedly the deceased's last wish to have their ashes spread on the island. But the video almost immediately sparked outrage from locals.  A representative of the local Chamber of Commerce was indignant when speaking about the matter to local media, calling the incident a 'health bomb.' Footage shared to social media showed the woman carrying a clear plastic container filled with what appears to be ash through the picturesque streets of Oia She sprinkled the ashes as she and a group of other tourists walked by residents' homes They added: 'You can't just throw ash everywhere. It's constantly windy on our island, so all this went everywhere, on passersby, shops and houses. Some limits must finally be set.' While mourners do not generally need permission from Greek authorities to spread ashes, according to the UK's foreign office, they can only be scattered in public under certain circumstances.  Remains can only be spread in designated memorial areas, or in remote natural areas.  Many choose to have their remains spread in the sea, with their loved ones taking a boat out before conducting a farewell ceremony.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.