Now mourners can log on to pay-per-view funerals

Published on Tuesday 1 April 2008 21:09

PAY-PER-VIEW funerals went live online in Britain yesterday, allowing mourners who cannot attend services in person to pay their last respects via the internet.

Despite criticism of the scheme as macabre, the firm behind it, Wesley Music, plans to offer the service to crematoriums across the country, which will charge a one-off fee of about 75 for access to a funeral webcast. Mourners use a password to access a live online broadcast of a funeral service, which is captured by a small camera mounted in the chapel.

"Families are dispersed across the world these days, and sometimes it's the case that someone cannot get home in time for a funeral," Alan Jeffrey, the director of Wesley Music, said.

"For those who need it, this is a very important service. It means that, rather than being excluded, they can at least witness and be a part of a funeral as it happens. In a time of stress, this is something that can ease the pain."

David Powell, of the funeral director Henry Powell and Son in Southampton, said he had already tested the service during three funerals, and he insisted they remained private, intimate affairs, despite being broadcast on the web. "It's a personal thing. It doesn't go out for all and sundry to gawk at," he said. "There is a password for the family to send to people who want to watch online."

He said mourners from as far afield as Australia and Canada had already used the system. "The families have been absolutely delighted to be able to share in the proceedings, when it wasn't possible for them to get over here and attend," Mr Powell said.