Nails from coffins as well as metal knee and hip joints have been donated to a crematorium's fundraiser, which has led to £1,500 donation to East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).

Cromer Crematorium in Holt Road has been running a scheme where it asks families of people who have died if they are willing to have certain metals to be sent abroad, melted down and recycled.

The Westerleigh Group-run centre gets paid for it, and passes on the money to local charities.

Rodney Clark-Ward, site manager, said: “The recyclable metals include things like coffin nails and knee and hip joints.

“It could even come from the pin or screw placed into the bone when someone has an operation on a broken femur.

“When a family is completing the notes before a cremation, they’re asked if they’re willing for those metals to be sent abroad for recycling.

“Loved ones very rarely want those materials back. It saves the metal being sent to landfill and helps raise money for a worthy cause.”

The crematorium has so far raised a total of £7,500, to be split between five good causes.