New data has revealed that public health funerals have more than doubled in Barrow.

Public Health Funerals – so-called paupers’ funerals – doubled in number between the financial years 2016/17 and 2017/18, according to new statistics revealed through a freedom of information request.

There were seven paupers’ funerals in 2017/18, twice the number recorded in each of the three previous years (three).

Of these seven funerals, five were paid for by the local authority, costing Barrow Borough Council almost £8,000 over the year. The others were paid for by “other means”.