Almost half of England’s cemeteries could run out of space within the next 20 years, a BBC survey suggests.
And a quarter of 358 local authorities responding to the BBC said they would have no more room for burials within a decade.
Cemetery experts warned of a looming “crisis”, while managers called for a change in law to allow graves that are more than 75-years-old to be reused.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said the issue was “under constant review”.
Many of the councils surveyed, including those in Gosport, Mole Valley, Crawley and Rother, said they had five years or less before they ran out of room. Other areas – such as Tandridge district council in the South East – said they had already run out of space.
Some 44% said they had 20 years or less before burial space ran out. About 74% of people who died in 2012 in the UK were cremated, but the cremation rates have levelled off – and there is still a demand for full burial and burial of ashes.
Do you have plans for your own funeral? Have you reserved a space somewhere? Do you feel it is important to be buried near your family or will you choose to be cremated and scattered to the wind? Do you wish for a more outlandish form of burial? Would you secretly like to be buried at sea or launched into space? Tell us how you plan to be laid to rest when the time comes.