Would you bury your loved one in your garden?
Two grieving spouses who wished to keep their loved ones close, have buried their late partners in their own gardens.
Patricia Waters, 81, wanted to provide her husband with a truly personal send-off and has had him buried in the back garden of their home - and even conducted the funeral service herself.
Phillip Topham, 56, buried his wife the
front garden of their home in Colwick, Nottingham, when she died from oesophageal cancer after 18 years by his side.
Patricia Waters decided that she did not want her husband Eddie laid to rest in an 'impersonal' cemetery, so she commissioned an undertaker to dig a plot round the back of their house in Kidderminster, Worcestershire.
Mrs Waters, a devout Catholic arranged for a priest to lead the ceremony - but when he was unble to attend, she carried out the service herself.
'I first saw something about home burials in a newspaper more than 20 years ago,' the 81-year-old said.
'Graveyards are so regimented and impersonal - so I thought wouldn't it be nice to be buried at home.
'Eddie and I were both interested in the idea. I'm just so glad we were able to do it. It is a great comfort for me knowing he is buried in the garden.'
Mrs Waters, a former teacher, asked undertakers Edwin Harris and Sons to arrange the burial.
Chief executive Mark Bullivant said: 'The home burial for Mr Waters was very unusual because it is at the back of a resident house in the middle of Kidderminster.