Kirklees Council ban football shirts and children's toys from cremations

Jun 13 2009 by Anne-Marie Senior, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

BEREAVED families are distraught over a Kirklees Council clampdown on cremating clothing and artefacts.

Heartbroken relatives are being banned from dressing loved ones in their favourite outfits because of EU pollution laws monitoring crematorium emissions.

It means an end to people being cremated wearing their favourite football shirts, or parents placing soft toys in children’s coffins.

And Kirklees Council is the only authority in the country to take such an “over-zealous” approach, according to a national cremation body.

Grieving families in Huddersfield are being forced to spend £60 on natural-fibre shrouds or seek permission from council officials to help honour their loved ones’ last wishes.

A council report stipulates : “If a family wishes to cremate their loved one in anything other than a shroud the funeral director should contact bereavement services so this can be discussed to clarify what type of garments the family wish to use.”

One man – who did not want to be named – was shocked to find his relative could not wear the 100% cotton outfit she had chosen before she died.

He said: “We knew it had to be natural fibres so she chose a top and slip that was 100% cotton.

“But when the funeral director came we were told she would have to wear a special shroud. He pulled out a swatch of different colours to choose from.

“We didn’t know what it looked like and when we went to see her in the chapel of rest, we couldn’t believe it.

“It was all fluffy and frilly. The deceased would not have wanted to have been seen dead in it – unfortunately she was.”

The council set out the guidelines on cremation in a letter to funeral directors.

The document refers to rules in a charter by the Institute of Cemeteries and Crematoria Management (ICCM) which states : “Clothing the deceased in clothes made of natural fibres/materials is acceptable whereas plastic, nylon and other synthetic materials are not acceptable due to the impact on the environment via emissions.”