HAMPSHIRE is one of the most expensive places to die in the country, new figures have revealed.

A study has revealed the county is the most expensive place for cremations on average in the UK, while it is the fourth highest for average burial costs.

The figures, revealed in the Engage Mutual 2014 Funeral Costs Tracker, show the cost of cremation in Hampshire is an £3,957 - some £700 higher than the UK average.

Average burial costs are even higher at £6,519 - the fourth highest in the country - and well above the country's average at £4,690.

Costs have risen dramatically in just two years.

The Engage Mutual report shows cremations in Hampshire would set families back £2,833 on average, while the cost of burials have risen an average of £2,384 in the same period.

The firm now warns people are in grave danger of leaving a legacy of debt by not planning for soaring funeral costs.

Chris Lawrence, of Southampton-based J Lawrence and Son, said the average costs revealed in the report are above what his business charges.

He told the Daily Echo: “Perhaps Hampshire is the most expensive because it is a more affluent area but we have other affluent counties nearby down here in the south such as Berkshire for example.”

Chris Waters, of Waters and Sons funeral directors in Southampton, added: “The price of everything is going up at the moment such as petrol and gas and the prices of funerals are the same.

“Hampshire is a more affluent area also so perhaps that plays in making the county more expensive.

“People don't always understand the breakdown of costs involved which include third party costs such as ministers fees and doctors fees, two doctors must sign forms before cremation.

“But people don't have to have expensive funerals and people are tending to our cheaper and shorter alternatives.”

MOST EXPENSIVE COUNTIES FOR CREMATIONS

  1. Hampshire (£3,957)
  2. West Lothian (£3,862)
  3. East Lothian (£3,725)
  4. London (£3,703)
  5. Essex (£3,690)

 

MOST EXPENSIVE COUNTIES FOR BURIALS

  1. London (£7,490)
  2. Middlesex (£6,961)
  3. Warwickshire (£6,873)
  4. Hampshire (£6,519)
  5. Midlothian (£6,104)