GRIEVING families in Basingstoke are paying more than twice as much to have an inscription added to a memorial than those living in nearby towns.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council charges £77 to add an inscription to an existing memorial, with the cost doubling to £154 for those who don’t live in the borough.

Information obtained by The Gazette, shows that in comparison, Test Valley Borough Council charges residents £28.50 for an additional inscription and Newbury Town Council charges £26 for the same service (£75 for non-residents).

A report by SunLife called Cost of Dying shows that the average cost of a UK funeral last year was £4,271, with the total cost of dying in 2018 at an all-time high of £9,204, which includes the funeral plus extras such as a send-off and professional fees.

Since the company started its annual Cost of Dying Report in 2004, prices have been steadily increasing.

The South East is the third most expensive area in the UK, with average funeral costs of £4,469, compared to £5,880 in London and £3,945 in the North West.

At the Worting Road Cemetery in Basingstoke, the council charges £1,750 to dig a new grave, while a crematorium plot on the site is £630. The right to erect a headstone, stone cross, book memorial or footplate costs £188, while the use of the chapel is £127.

At Basingstoke Crematorium, owned by Dignity Funerals Limited, the cost of an adult crematorium, which includes the scattering of ashes in the grounds, costs £1,025.

Cabinet Member for Environment and Enforcement Cllr Hayley Eachus said: “We work hard to keep our cemetery fees as low as possible for the benefit of our residents and the council heavily subsidises the cemetery service for those living in Basingstoke and Deane.

“Each year we benchmark our cemetery fees with our neighbouring local authorities and our charge for memorial inscriptions remains lower than the majority of the county.”