Cash strapped Somerset Council charges £1,100 for a standard 40 minute service at his crematoria in Taunton and Yeovil.

But some funeral directors have branded the new fee 'emotional blackmail' and accuse the 'skint council of clawing back money' as well as punishing grieving families.

Local people have also accused the authority of 'money grabbing' calling it 'disgusting'.

Cllr Frederica Smith-Roberts, Lead Member for Communities at Somerset Council, said: "Ninety per cent of our cremations that we do aren't held over. It is just where people are wanting a choice to have done directly on that day and guaranteeing it, they have that choice available to them."

The council said some cremations may be held over due to 'strict environmental controls'.

There has always been a fee to collect a person's ashes on the same day - that has now risen to £80 too - but only one of the two fees will ever be payable.

Ross Hickton, from Saif, who represents independent funeral directors, said: "It seems like it's an extra tax on vulnerable people who expect to be cremate their loved ones on the same day."

One local man said: "There's enough taxes, especially at this time of year when everything is going up."

Another said: "You shouldn't have to pay an extra fee for something as simple as that."