Council drops plans to charge extra for wider cemetery plots

A council has decided against charging more for wider burial plots in Wolverhampton following condemnation that it was a "fat tax".

- Nadeem Badshah

Danescourt cemetery in Tettenhall had planned to charge an extra 20% to families whose loved ones required a plot that was 6ft (1.8 metres) wide, rather than a standard 5ft grave.

Wolverhampton council previously said the higher charge was in response to an increase in obesity levels in the West Midlands city, where a third of people are obese, compared with the national average of just over a quarter. Councillors had approved the charges in May after consultation with local funeral parlours but backed down yesterday.