Traditional funerals dying out in favour of quirky send-offs

THE religious funeral is falling out of favour, according to the most extensive ever report on funeral trends.

Instead of services in churches, crematoriums and cemeteries, Britons are opting for increasingly quirky ways to mourn their loved ones.

Since 2011, there has been an 80 per cent decline in religious funerals according to the Co-op, which organises more than 100,000 funerals every year. Eight years ago, 67 per cent of people requested traditional religious services. However by 2018, just 13 per cent wanted a religious funeral, according to its report, entitled Burying Traditions: The Changing Face of UK Funerals,

Undertakers have reported a “staggering shift” towards unique, secular ceremonies. Niche requests have included milk floats, canal boats, converted steam trains and quad bikes.

The locations of funerals have also changed. Zoos, buses, a cattle auction house, the 18th hole on a golf course – and even a Mcdonald’s Drive Thru – have hosted processions. Tributes have extended to creative ways of immortalising ashes such as placing them inside the furnace of a steam train, scattering them during a skydive, or keeping them inside a rucksack.

Funeral directors also reported that 22 per cent of people had already decided what they want inside their coffins. Among the more unusual requests are Chinese takeaways, a false leg, a broomstick and an Argos catalogue. Samantha Tyrer, managing director of Co-op Funeralcare, said: “Our funerals represent the unique life an individual has lived. More so now than ever before, we’re seeing requests for wonderfully personalised ceremonies.”

‘Our funerals represent the unique life an individual has lived with requests for personalised ceremonies’