A GRIEVING family has criticised Monmouthshire County Council for its “ridiculous” burial fees policy that charged them an extra £1,500 to make a loved one's grave six inches wider.

Expert forager and former Mayor of Chepstow Henry Ashby died aged 63 at the end of July.

Mr Ashby, 63, was a well-known forager for more than 50 years and supplied some of the country’s top restaurants with fresh ingredients taken straight from the hedgerow, coast or forest floor.

He was also a regular speaker at food festivals around the area including Abergavenny Food Festival.

His business, Wild Food 365, supplied Chris Harrod, the Michelin-starred chef patron at the Whitebrook, near Monmouth, with a variety of foraged goods.

But because Mr Ashby’s coffin is a few inches wider than a normal size, exceeding the council's standard dimensions, the local authority wanted to charge double to bury him - taking the costs from £1,500 to £3,000.

“How could they do something like this?” Mrs Ashby said. “I don’t have this kind of money.

“It’s just awful – we’re talking about a little bit extra.”

The small print of Monmouthshire’s list of burial fees states: “Coffins in excess of 28’ inches wide will require two grave spaces and will incur the additional charge for the second space as per the charges above.”

Mrs Ashby said her husband’s brother, Allan, had paid the extra £1,500 to ensure the funeral next week could go ahead as planned.

He cashed in an ISA to afford the charge.

“Human beings are all different sizes – where does the line come?” said Mr Allan Ashby.

“It’s an extortionate amount, not in proportion to the amount of work. It’s a very cynical approach.

“If Tanya didn’t have family to help out, we’d be faced with the prospect of a former mayor of Chepstow having a pauper’s funeral."

He said a charge of one or two hundred pounds would have been acceptable. Attempts to discuss the matter with the local authority, he added, had proved fruitless.

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None of Gwent’s four other local authorities use such a policy in their cemeteries.

A spokeswoman for Newport City Council said there may be a nominal fee to cover the labour costs of widening a plot.

This is also true of Blaenau Gwent, where the council may make “an appropriate charge due to loss of that burial space”.

But in Caerphilly county borough and Torfaen, there would be no extra charges for burying a wider coffin.

The Ashby family contacted their local MP, David Davies, who told the Argus he was making enquiries into the matter.

A council spokesman said: "We sympathise deeply with the family’s situation at this difficult time, and have offered advice on accessing various means of support.

"Advice was taken from appropriate officers to determine what flexibility could be offered, but unfortunately the charge in question is in accordance with our policy and will require two grave spaces and will incur the additional charge."