FOOTBALL, movies, cats; all sorts of video can be watched online - and soon you'll even be able to watch live funerals.

Mourners will soon be able to watch cremations streaming online from a Hampshire crematorium.

The service is being introduced at Portchester Crematorium in Fareham as a way of allowing relatives in foreign countries to say a final goodbye to their relatives.

It is one of a number of improvements taking place at the crematorium designed to combat a significant decrease in service use.

A private crematorium opening in east Hampshire has seen cremation numbers at the Portchester site, run by Fareham Borough Council, drop by about 50 a month.

Portchester Crematorium deputy registrar Helen Jenkins said that equipment was being installed to help provide the service.

She said: “It's going to be made available and we are trying to find a solution.

“It is for members of the public who can't attend a service, like somebody who lives abroad.”

Other improvements have taken place including the introduction of video screens in each chapel, enabling personal tribute videos to be shown.

Books of remembrance and cremation records will also be made available online, while longer service time slots have been provided.

The south chapel will also be refurbished this winter.

Southampton Crematorium became one of the first sites to introduce the online scheme when it began offering streaming and DVDs of services in 2008.