Beorn
02-10-2009, 04:42 PM
Deadly cold snap has led to month's delay in funerals
Grieving families are being forced to wait more than a month to bury their dead as Britain struggles to cope with the worst winter in 13 years.
Undertakers say the number of unburied bodies has risen sharply since the start of the cold snap - and is expected to grow.
The sub-zero conditions and snowstorms have triggered a surge in deaths and left the ground too frozen to dig up across much of the UK.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/02/09/article-0-035BDC6C000005DC-818_468x384.jpg
Digging in: A woman near Aviemore where temperatures fell to -18c
Despite the growing crisis, local councils are refusing to clear the backlog of bodies by opening up cemeteries on Saturdays and Sundays. Most still allow weekend burials only for Muslims and orthodox Jews.
According to the latest official figures, funeral directors and registrars are struggling to cope with the bodies of more than 54,113 who have died so far this year.
The figure is almost 6,000 higher than in previous years, with thousands of deaths still to be registered for January and the first week of February.
Many undertakers say there are four-week waiting lists for funerals and cremations. Sub-zero temperatures and deadly strains of the flu virus are expected to send the death toll soaring over the next two months, creating fears that bodies may lie unburied for months.
Budget cuts have led to a shortage of gravediggers and registrars, while many burial plots are frozen over and cannot be dug up.
Last night the Government faced pressure to fund emergency measures to clear the growing backlog. It is a grim reminder of the final days of the last Labour government 30 years ago, when strikes led to rubbish piling up in the streets and corpses going unburied for months.
John Weir, of the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors said: 'There is currently an extremely high demand.
'Some families may have a longer waiting time of three to four weeks. It would help if we saw a major change in the attitudes of local authorities but they have a nine-till-five mindset.'
Traditionally, undertakers ensure families wait no longer than ten days for a funeral to take place.
But funeral director Jason Maiden, of Doves, in Kent, said some families were waiting up to four weeks for a funeral slot.
'Bereaved families are having to wait what must be an unbearable duration to lay to rest their loved ones,' he said.
Many undertakers hit by the credit crunch are refusing to carry out funerals until the Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed it will foot the bill.
Previously, undertakers would pay for the cost of funerals for poor families and wait to be reimbursed by the State, but the lack of credit in the banking system means many firms can no longer afford to do so.
Source (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1140322/Deadly-cold-snap-led-months-delay-funerals.html?ITO=1490)
It seems the credit crunch and the biased multicultural laws are even presenting a problem to our dead!
Grieving families are being forced to wait more than a month to bury their dead as Britain struggles to cope with the worst winter in 13 years.
Undertakers say the number of unburied bodies has risen sharply since the start of the cold snap - and is expected to grow.
The sub-zero conditions and snowstorms have triggered a surge in deaths and left the ground too frozen to dig up across much of the UK.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/02/09/article-0-035BDC6C000005DC-818_468x384.jpg
Digging in: A woman near Aviemore where temperatures fell to -18c
Despite the growing crisis, local councils are refusing to clear the backlog of bodies by opening up cemeteries on Saturdays and Sundays. Most still allow weekend burials only for Muslims and orthodox Jews.
According to the latest official figures, funeral directors and registrars are struggling to cope with the bodies of more than 54,113 who have died so far this year.
The figure is almost 6,000 higher than in previous years, with thousands of deaths still to be registered for January and the first week of February.
Many undertakers say there are four-week waiting lists for funerals and cremations. Sub-zero temperatures and deadly strains of the flu virus are expected to send the death toll soaring over the next two months, creating fears that bodies may lie unburied for months.
Budget cuts have led to a shortage of gravediggers and registrars, while many burial plots are frozen over and cannot be dug up.
Last night the Government faced pressure to fund emergency measures to clear the growing backlog. It is a grim reminder of the final days of the last Labour government 30 years ago, when strikes led to rubbish piling up in the streets and corpses going unburied for months.
John Weir, of the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors said: 'There is currently an extremely high demand.
'Some families may have a longer waiting time of three to four weeks. It would help if we saw a major change in the attitudes of local authorities but they have a nine-till-five mindset.'
Traditionally, undertakers ensure families wait no longer than ten days for a funeral to take place.
But funeral director Jason Maiden, of Doves, in Kent, said some families were waiting up to four weeks for a funeral slot.
'Bereaved families are having to wait what must be an unbearable duration to lay to rest their loved ones,' he said.
Many undertakers hit by the credit crunch are refusing to carry out funerals until the Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed it will foot the bill.
Previously, undertakers would pay for the cost of funerals for poor families and wait to be reimbursed by the State, but the lack of credit in the banking system means many firms can no longer afford to do so.
Source (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1140322/Deadly-cold-snap-led-months-delay-funerals.html?ITO=1490)
It seems the credit crunch and the biased multicultural laws are even presenting a problem to our dead!