FAMILIES face burial bills totalling thousands of pounds – but those hit hardest by the coronavirus crisis will be offered a reduced rate.

For the next six months, where there is more than one funeral for a registered Bury resident in the same household within the course of three months, the council will reduce burial costs by 25 per cent for the second one.

Although this will rarely apply, when it does, it is set to bring costs down for affected families by approximately £500 for each funeral.

This reduced rate was agreed by the Emergency Powers Group after two members of the same family died within days of each other during the coronavirus crisis.

Bury Council’s deputy chief executive Lynne Ridsdale said the move by the authority is a response to questions from the Muslim community, which typically faces higher burial costs.

She said: “We’ve been asked about flexibility of charging if there’s more than one death in the family during the current pandemic.

“The proposal is that we move to a position where the council absorbs 25 per cent of the costs of a second burial for any faith group during the current context.

“It would be a temporary arrangement only. But we make this as a flexibility in recognition that cost to families could unfortunately be an issue.

“We don’t think it will be a significant cost [to the council]. We had just one recent case we were aware of with the same family within a matter of days.

“Unfortunately, it will happen. But we would hope it won’t be a massive issue for us and it will be a direct response back to the community who have asked.”

The total cost of any burial in Bury is £2,069 which includes £1,085 for the plot, £106 for the rights of burial, £777 for the interment on weekdays and £101 for the marker stone. This charge is the same for all faiths.

There are other charges that may be applied at a later date which will vary depending upon personal choice.

Concrete vaults have been developed over a number of years with the Muslim community in Bury and are now four inches deep with interlocking concrete capping flags.

The cost of using the vaults for burial, including installation, is £1,085, which is cost price for the council with no commission added.

Other councils may have a cheaper design or use wooden vaults which would not be to the standard required by the Muslim community in Bury.

However, use of the vaults is a preference rather than a religious requirement, according to a council report, so no discount has been applied on this element.

The local authority does occasionally get requests for an earth burial – without a vault – in the Muslim plot. This is charged at the standard price of £2,069.

The extra cost of a weekend burial, which covers the additional cost of the gravediggers, can also raise the total price for burial by around £50 an hour.