UK faces a cost of dying crisis as funeral costs reach record high

The cost of a funeral is pushing some families into debt, as well as leading to the rise of no-frills 'direct cremations’. Photograph: PA

Growing numbers of grieving families are having to sell belongings, raid their savings or borrow from friends to cover the cost of a loved one’s funeral, according to a report that says the “cost of dying” has hit a record high.

There has also been an increase in the number of “public health funerals”, formerly known as pauper’s funerals, which are arranged by the local council for someone who has died without relatives, and with no way of paying for their own send-off, said the insurer SunLife.