A tree planting ceremony has been held to dedicate a new cemetery for Great Harwood and Rishton.

Construction work at the cemetery, off Lee Lane, is nearly complete which will provide burial space for the next 100 years, areas for ashes burials and a ‘new natural burial option’.

Council leader Miles Parkinson dedicated the ceremony earlier this week by planting a flowering cherry tree.

He said: “I’m extremely pleased to dedicate this new cemetery to the people of Rishton and Great Harwood. It’s fitting that we plant a tree here, as, for the first time in the borough, we can now offer a natural burial option, an environmentally friendly alternative, which will also create a woodland and habitat in this countryside location.”

Coun Ken Moss, cabinet member for cemeteries, said: “The opening of this new cemetery means that future generations of residents from Rishton and Great Harwood can continue to be buried in their local cemetery.

“This is something the council was happy to invest in and having a natural burial option offers something previously not available.”