Inside the Lincoln crematorium on Washingborough Road. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Lincolnshire families could be asked to travel further away to attend funerals and crematoriums, as deaths doubled in the county compared to this time last year.
Local health bosses urged families in Lincolnshire to be as flexible as possible when arranging funerals of loved ones this winter.
With more people passing away than normally seen at this time of year, there is a risk of delays for crematoriums and funeral directors.
This extra 15% puts strain on funeral directors as it increases the number of those needing a funeral arranged.
At the end of November, the county’s average weekly deaths rose by nearly 60% on 2019, from 175 to 275.
Lincolnshire’s Director of Public Health, Derek Ward, said: “These are incredibly difficult times for everyone who loses a loved one.
“With restrictions on funerals unlikely to change in the near future, please be assured that everyone involved in the process is working hard to make sure arrangements are made in line with families’ wishes wherever possible.
“We are about to enter a fortnight where crematoriums have less availability, and sadly, we are seeing the number of deaths in Lincolnshire increase. Last week we saw double the amount of deaths that we would see on average for this time of year.
He added: “This means you may be offered a service at a crematorium which is not necessarily the nearest to you, to avoid your service being delayed. We’re really grateful to families for being flexible when they make arrangements.”
David Dernley, Head of Funeral Services at Lincolnshire Co-operative Ltd said: “Where families have agreed, different crematoria around the county are being used rather than their nearest.
“In some areas of the county we have offered families services over the county border, where it may be their next nearest location.”
He added: “We always respect the wishes of families as to where and when services take place and we have found that even in these difficult times, people have been very understanding.”
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Marc Jones, the re-elected Conservative Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner, said that his work is not done, as he’s looking forward to a further three years in the role.
Mr Jones won with a 57.9% majority of the poll from the first round of counting, with 102,813 votes from a 31% turnout. A total of 177,528 votes were placed county-wide.
The nearest candidate was Labour’s Rosanne Kirk, with a 19% share of the votes, with Lincolnshire Independent David Williams securing the third spot with 10%.
The breakdown of the votes cast on Thursday, May 6, and counted on Saturday, may 8, was:
Marc Jones (Conservative) – 102,813
Rosanne Kirk (Labour) – 34,310
David Williams (Lincolnshire Independent) – 18,375
Ross Pepper (Liberal Democrats) – 10,172
Peter Escreet (Reform UK) – 6,101
Marc Jones: “More work to do”
“It’s very gratifying to have concluded today on the first count, that was a really positive thing for what I’ve delivered so far,” said Mr Jones.
“But I’m under no illusions having spoken to many around the county there’s an awful lot more work to do.”
He said he wanted to assure the public that “nothing was taken for granted”.
Rosie Kirk – Labour – 2nd place
Labour’s candidate Rosie Kirk said she was “thrilled for her party” across all three elections that had taken place in Lincolnshire this week.
“The votes that we got was incredible. Our message got through and to actually come second in a Conservative county is really great,” she said.
However, she added that there were “lots of questions that still need to be asked” and promised to keep up her scrutiny of Marc in his role.
Ross Pepper – Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrat candidate Ross Pepper said the result was not “entirely unexpected”.
However, he said he was proud of the three Liberal Democrat councillors that had won seats in the local elections at Lincolnshire County and City of Lincoln Councils.
“I’m ready to work with them for a better Lincolnshire and a better Lincoln,” he said.
“In a Conservative heavy county we did a really good job of getting the Liberal Democrat message out there… and we continue pushing that message through local campaigning in the future.”
David Williams – Lincolnshire Independents
David Williams, the Lincolnshire Independents PCC candidate congratulated Marc Jones on his victory but said it is “not a surprising outcome”.
“I’m really pleased to have run for the post, because if I hadn’t have had a go to do a job that I really would have relished then I would have looked back and regretted not having taking the opportunity.”
Peter Escreet – Reform UK
Peter Escreet, the Reform UK candidate also said the result “was as expected” but actually he was “pleasantly surprised,” saying that this is “just the start”.
“The real campaign is in three years’ time” where Mr Escreet wants to grow a majority.
Conservative Marc Jones has been re-elected to the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner role.
He won from the first round of counting with 102,813 votes from a 31% turnout.
The PCC oversees the strategy and finances of the force, and also hires and fires chief constables, who are responsible for the daily policing operations.
Mr Jones will be in the position for three years.
The breakdown of the results is:
Marc Jones (Conservative) – 102,813
Rosanne Kirk (Labour) – 34,310
Ross Pepper (Liberal Democrats) – 10,172
David Williams (Lincolnshire Independent) – 18,375
Peter Escreet (Reform UK) – 6,101
Here’s the live result announcement, the reactions and acceptance speech:
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