Cardboard coffins cannot be used for cremations at Le Foulon

The use of these coffins was initially suspended after it was found that the temperature at which the coffins were charged (entered) into the new cremator led to them catching fire too quickly.

A Property Unit spokesman said that the coffins were also not particularly rigid and had needed additional support to stop them flexing during this process.

Safety tests were undertaken on a different kind of cardboard coffin after improvements were made in the design, but these also proved to be unsuitable.

‘We’ve carried out testing on a different type of cardboard coffin provided by a local funeral director to see if this was any safer than previous tests,’ the spokesman said.

‘They were still no better than those tested previously, with a number of safety concerns still remaining, and therefore, cardboard coffins are still not currently accepted for cremations.

'We will of course continue to review the situation as and when new products are put forward by the funeral directors, which we are very willing to consider and test to try a find a solution.’

Vaudin Funeral Services had provided the test coffins and director Jai Vaudin said that while cardboard was no longer an option, there were low price options available.

In addition, some cremations were taking place with no coffin at all.

‘The person is wrapped in a shroud,’ he said. ‘This is normally done for direct cremation. Some religions do this in the UK, so I think that’s how it’s come about.’