Warning as graveyards are full with loved ones unable to be buried unless spot has been booked in advance

GRAVEYARDS are full with loved ones unable to be buried unless a spot has been booked in advance, a town’s bosses warn.

And experts say the cemetery crisis is mirrored in many communities across the country.

Friends of a recently deceased 46-year-old man, named only as Neil, said yesterday they had learned there were no burial sites left in Bicester, Oxfordshire, unless people had pre-booked plots.

Liberal Democrat councillor John Willett has said the town’s cemetery cannot be expanded.

He warned: “Due to the high water table, further expansion of the current site is impossible.”

Friends of Neil, who had lived in Bicester his entire life, were told he can only be buried in the village of Tackley — 11 miles away.

Neil’s two children do not drive, and his family and friends are fighting to get him buried locally.

One friend said: “We just assumed when he passed away he would be buried in Bicester.

“Losing somebody is hard to deal with, and it is sad not having somewhere people can go to sit and chat with him.

“We would love to be able to do that.”

Communities around Britain are running out of space in graveyards with many “over-burying” plots.

The practice involves digging into graves but not as deep as the original occupant, and burying the newly deceased on top.