Halifax ranked as one of the most expensive places to die

Watford was the most most expensive place to have a funeral, at an average cost of £5,814 - nudging London into second place at £5,749.

Halifax came eight with the cost of the average funeral costing £4976.

READ: Kitten with severed tail dumped outside Halifax animal centreThe study by funeral comparison website Beyond revealed today. the average UK funeral - calculated as the average cost of a funeral director’s services plus the average price of cremations and burials - is now £4,241.

This represents a rise of 33% in only two years - in 2016, the average was £3,190.

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James Dunn, co-founder of Beyond, said: “It looks like a football league but this is one table you don’t want to be topping.

“A lack of transparency in the funeral market is what’s fuelling price rises, particularly among the big chains.

“Death means big business, with half a million Brits dying every year, but a disinclination to shop around is resulting in mourners, who are often vulnerable, paying over the odds.”

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Here are the places most expensive average cost for funerals

1. Watford, £5,814

2. London, £5,749

3. Redhill, £5,352

4. Guildford, £5,317

5. Liverpool, £5,157

6. Newport, £5,149

7. Brighton, £5,013

8. Halifax, £4,976

9. Salisbury, £4,959

10. Aberdeen, £4,942

However the findings have been disputed by Co-op Funeralcare.

Commenting on the figures a spokesperson from Co-op Funeralcare said: “We do not recognise the data within this study.

"Over recent years, we have taken a number of steps to lead the way in tackling funeral affordability.

"We conduct almost 100,000 funerals every year, and our average funeral cost including third party fees is significantly lower than the figures quoted.

"Furthermore, following a price reduction in our most affordable funeral option over two years ago, we have since held our prices at the same level.

"We have also introduced a new lower priced choice funeral option this year, which is priced at £1,395, including third party costs.”