Councils across the UK could soon follow Tameside Council's lead and harness the heat generated by burning the dead to warm the living mourning them.
Heat from the cremation incineration process will be recycled to warm the chapel at Dukinfield Crematorium in Manchester.

The crematorium's method of disposing of the dead will reduce Tameside Council's carbon footprint by re-using the heat generated to power the the building's boiler and light the chapel.

To meet pollution targets, all councils must fit costly mercury filter equipment by 2012 into crematoriums to cut the amount of mercury released into the atmosphere from burnt tooth fillings. This requirement may persuade more councils to use the dead to combat global warming.

Cremations take place at 1,000c but the temperature must be reduced to 160c to remove the mercury. Heat exchangers will be installed in the flues to reduce the temperature and this will be linked to its boiler system so that the excess heat can be captured and reused.