PEOPLE in Preston and South Ribble will soon be able to bury their loved ones in an eco-friendly woodland with a service of their choice.

Plans are in the pipeline to transform a field next to Hill Road Cemetery, Penwortham, into a 'green' graveyard.

The alternative burial site, which could accommodate around 500 plots, would be the first of its kind in South Ribble to offer unconventional funeral arrangements.

The dead could be buried in biodegradable boxes made of bamboo, wicker, corrugated cardboard or in a cotton shroud.

Steve Caswell, Penwortham town manager, said: "It's a very picturesque site with a stream running nearby and it would be a lovely place to remember your loved ones.

"It's also good for the environment, it will be there forever and there won't be broken and rundown looking headstones, just beautiful trees."

The site, owned by Penwortham Town Council, is currently vacant but if the plan gets the go-ahead, it could soon be a thriving woodland, with paths running through. Traditional headstones would be out, and instead, people would be able to buy remembrance benches dedicated to their loved ones.

And families would be free to mark the event with a ceremony of their choosing, either a traditional religious occasion or an alternative.

According to Mike Jarvis of The Natural Death Centre, services at other woodland burial sites have included a New Orleans style jazz band, poetry readings, a bagpipe player, favourite music and even fireworks.

He said: "I've seen and heard about all sorts of different types of burials including a man who had his ashes blasted off in a massive firework.

"There's even a jazz band that specialises in performing at burial services."

He added that green graves are much more cost effective.

"Obviously a funeral can be as expensive or inexpensive as you like but if you take a simple funeral and compare a woodland burial with a more traditional one then the woodland option is cheaper."

Although Preston Cemetery in Ribbleton has a small area set aside with 90 plots for green graves, this would be the first site in the area exclusively for eco-friendly burials.

John Robinson, park ranger for Grange Park, Ribbleton, said: "It's a great idea for the environment and helps to save forests and trees being felled.

"I think it will be a popular method as I have learned in my business that people seem very emotional towards trees and I think it's a fitting way to remember the dead."

As yet, the species of trees has not been decided, but it could be the start of a budding oak forest. Mr Caswell added: "We haven't got as far as deciding the species, but it would be nice to make it an English woodland."

Councillor Howard Gore, Mayor of Penwortham who is also leader of South Ribble Borough Council, said: "My parents are buried in Hill Road Cemetery and I understand just how important the peace and tranquillity of that setting is.

"The council is keen to look at proposals for eco-friendly burials and it's a great idea for the people of Penwortham."

The green graveyard would serve residents, but it would also be available to people living outside the borough at a slightly higher cost.