Cost of dying is killing us

One whiff of someone’s natural body odour could be enough to make you fall in love with them, say scientists in California. And I thought we all just got hit by Cupid’s BO. NOBODY wants to think about a loved one’s funeral.

Yet, when the time comes, we all want them to get a good send off – a decent funeral.

But it’s only then, when we’re at our most vulnerable that we realise just how much it costs and, to often, that we can’t afford it.

I discovered that 27 years ago when my brother and I had to borrow money to bury our beloved mum.

It was stressful, upsetting and made us feel terribly guilty.

But the soaring cost of funerals – up three per cent in a year to an average £3,784 – has made things even harder for families today.

A new survey reveals one in six will be left with debts of around £1,700 while nationwide funeral debt stands at £160million.

The Government’s funeral hardship fund is woefully inadequate, a shortage of burial spaces is driving up costs and the postcode lottery of local authority fees needs addressing.

They’re tackling the problem in Scotland with a new ten point plan – ministers here need to do the same.

Because this grave crisis is piling the anguish of debt on top of the agony of grief.