TOWN councillors look set to approve work costing £27,000 to extend Great Malvern Cemetery.

The burial ground is running out of space and adjoining land in Madresfield Road, currently used as allotments, will be incorporated into the site over the next 18 months.

Town clerk Richard Chapman said there was quite a lot of work to be done to prepare the land. "You can't dig up potatoes one day and bury people the next.

"The ground has to be prepared and left to settle and seeded. It is going to be very tight getting this work done in time," he said.

The cemetery was established in 1861 and in 1911 the town council bought an extra few adjoining acres for future extensions.

The council then allowed that land to be used for allotments until the cemetery extensions were needed. In 1990 bore holes were drilled to make sure there were no underground springs or water courses on the allotment site.

The committee is being asked to recommend the £27,000 preparation work is approved by the full council.

This comprises a total of £4,500 for fencing, £9,000 for ground dressing, £1,500 for water installation, £7,000 for road laying and £5,000 for reseeding and re-landscaping.