Cost of dying 'as high as £7,000'

The GMB union said the most expensive burials were in Lambeth

The cost of dying can be as high as £7,000 when funerals and other costs such as flowers and wakes are added up, according to a study.

The GMB union said the most expensive burials were in Lambeth, London, at £5,329, and the City of London (£5,1850) while crematoriums cost £3,464 in the City of London.

Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB, told the union's annual conference in Plymouth:

The top 20 councils for the cost of burial were:

  • Lambeth £5,329

  • City of London £5,185

  • Wandsworth £4,190

  • Merton £4,125

  • Croydon £4,106

  • Enfield £3,665

  • Bromley £3,647

  • Kensington & Chelsea £3,600

  • Bexley £3,256

  • Richmond upon Thames £3,190

  • Barking and Dagenham £3,170

  • Spelthorne £2,992

  • Southwark £2,984

  • Havering £2,955

  • Hammersmith & Fulham £2,940

  • Rushmoor £2,837

  • Southend-on-Sea £2,730

  • Barnet £2,692

  • Brent £2,675

  • Exeter £2,650

The other councils in the top 20 for cremation charges were said to be:

  • Wandsworth £2,350

  • Croydon £2,265

  • Lambeth £2,132

  • Stoke-on-Trent £2,045

  • Manchester £2,012

  • Rushmoor £1,984

  • Walsall £1,892

  • Sutton £1,865

  • Sandwell £1,837

  • Bexley £1,836

  • Wolverhampton £1,811

  • Barnet £1,798

  • Merton £1,786

  • Ipswich £1,743

  • Bristol £1,675

  • Coventry £1,661

  • Sefton £1,655

  • Spelthorne £1,648

  • Kingston upon Thames £1,635