'Pay £5,000 to keep old family graves'

Families could be made to pay to stop Southwark council removing the remains of their relatives from graves to create new burial space.

Council leaders will meet tomorrow as the number of available graves in the borough reaches "crisis" levels. Some experts predict there will be none left by the end of summer.

Relatives could be asked to pay between £1,000 and £5,000 to keep a plot that's more than 75 years old. Remains that were removed could be placed in an unmarked common grave.

Councillor Barrie Hargrove said: "This is a problem that won't wait any longer." More than 1,700 people have signed a petition against the suggestion.