Funerals threatened with £100 fines for taking too long

The charge is designed to prevent distressing delays for mourners attending the next service.

But funeral directors in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, who must pick up the bill before passing it on to mourners are outraged.

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They say the threat of a fine forces grieving relatives to watch the clock rather than say a proper goodbye.

Michael Elvy, 60, of T W Boorman funeral directors, said: "What am I meant to do if the service spills over by a couple of minutes - wait until the family is looking at all the flowers then hit them with the fine?

"It is going to be very distressing for all involved.

"This shows absolutely no respect for the dead or their loved ones trying to say a final goodbye.

"It is simply penny-pinching by the council."

Those booking a funeral service at Kent and Sussex Crematorium already pay £463 for 30 minutes at the venue.

An additional £35 is required for an organist.

An essential medical referee, who checks all the legal documents, costs another £18. And mourners can be fined even if the ceremony overruns by a few minutes.

Robert Hickmott, 40, has been a funeral director at E R Hickmott & Son for almost 20 years.

He said: "If there is a problem with services over-running then the council should have come to the funeral directors and consulted with us about how best to solve it.

"This is extremely heavy-handed and we have no idea how this is going to operate.

"It is obviously going to be very difficult for funeral directors to approach families at this tragic time and say to them, 'Because you said a few too many words about the person you have just lost forever, you have to pay another £100'.

"We are seeking a liaison meeting with the council to resolve this."

The crematorium can impose fines at the registrar's discretion.

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, which is introducing the policy with immediate effect, stood by the decision.

Spokesman Gary Stevenson said: "The over-running of services can cause distress to mourners attending the next service.

"Following complaints, the council has introduced a discretionary surcharge fee to encourage funeral directors to ensure that each service is planned with the bereaved family in such a way that it does not exceed the time allotted and impinge on the next service.

"Where families would like a longer service, it is possible for their funeral director to book one in the crematorium chapel."