FUNERAL costs in parts of Gwent are higher than the rest of Wales.

Newport comes sixth in a list of the most expensive place to die in the UK, and is the most expensive place in Wales with the average funeral costing £5,149.

Watford tops the UK list with an average cost of £5,814, according to research by funeral comparison website Beyond.

The costs were calculated as funeral director fees, basic wood veneer coffin, urn, flowers, celebrant/minister, hearse and one limousine.

According to their figures, the average cost of a funeral in the UK is now £4,241, a rise of 33 per cent since 2016.

The reason for the high costs are fuelled by price hikes among the big chains, who have raised their already-high fees by more than £500 in two years.

Meanwhile, independent funeral directors, who represent roughly a third of the market, have actually been found to have dropped their fees over the past 12 months.