A CREMATORIUM has turned to technology to allow mourners to attend funeral services online.

Vale Royal Crematorium, which caters to families from mid Cheshire, has upgraded its audio visual equipment to allow full services including music, hymns and visual tributes to be webcast.

Current Covid-19 restrictions mean no more than 30 people can attend a funeral in person, but the technology means hundreds of people can log in and follow a service from afar and at the same time.

George Bell, regional manager for crematorium owners Westerleigh Group, said: “Sadly, it is clear that restrictions that limit the number of people attending a funeral to 30 will be with us for many more months.

“We spoke to funeral arrangers and celebrants and they overwhelmingly supported the look and feel of the online system.”

To ensure the smooth running of the system, Vale Royal Crematorium entrusted its installation to Obitus, a firm specialising in music and video technology for funerals.

James Crossland, managing director of Obitus, believes the system will bring peace of mind to people who want to give a fitting send-off to their loved ones.

“We share the same core values as Westerleigh in providing a first-class service to the bereaved,” Mr Crossland said.

“At the forefront of everything we do is to ensure that in these difficult times people can say goodbye to their loved ones in a dignified way with a seamless webcasting service.”