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The cost of dying: Cremation prices in Manchester among highest in UK, study reveals

By Glen Keogh

Cremation costs in Manchester are among the highest in the country at more than £2,000 – which means the cost of dying in the city could be as high as £7,000.

A study by the GMB trade union outlined the places which averaged the most expensive burials and crematoriums in the UK.

Manchester City Council is in the top 20 in the country for cremation charges at £2,012.

Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB, speaking at the union’s annual conference in Plymouth, said: “At a time when the cost of living occupies people’s concerns, it will be a real shock to many that the cost of dying is so high.

“While GMB realises that the public are not queuing up to test the services, it remains a fact that few have any idea of how much even a simple burial or cremation actually costs.

“Someone is making a lot of money out of people’s bereavement.”

When the costs of funerals, flowers, wakes and other services are added up, the price of dying can sky-rocket, according to the study.

The most expensive burials were in Lambeth, London at £5,329 and the City of London at £5,185.

Manchester was the fourth most expensive council to be cremated in, behind Wandsworth at £2,350, Croydon, Lambeth and Stoke-on-Trent.

Picture courtesy of Jacob & Kiki Hantla, with thanks.

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