A TEMPORARY mortuary is being built as a contingency measure to ensure Lancashire is prepared to cope with an increase in winter deaths due to the coronavirus crisis.

The 210 capacity mortuary will be constructed on the car park of the Farington Environmental Education Centre at Lancashire Enterprise Business Park near Leyland.

It will ensure the county is prepared for a potential increase in demand from the Lancashire County Council, Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool areas.

The facility, made up of three mobile buildings, is due to be built in the coming week after a larger mortuary at BAE Systems was built but never used during the first wave of the pandemic.

Leader of Lancashire County Council, County Councillor Geoff Driver CBE, said: “I hope this facility will never need to be used and that we’ll be able to cope without it as we did during the first wave of the pandemic.

“However, we can’t predict what will happen over the winter and it’s vital that we’re prepared in order to ensure the deceased are treated decently and with respect.

“We have taken the Government up on the offer of having this facility on standby and, by siting it at the Environmental Education Centre, we can ensure it is secure and available for as long as we might need it at little cost.

“The best way to reduce the numbers of deaths in Lancashire is for everyone to protect their community, the NHS and to follow the guidance during lockdown.”