AN eco-friendly burial ground is to be set up in a corner of Guisborough Cemetery., and will be ready for use next month.

Woodland burials are becoming popular with people who want a less commercialised form of burial and who have concerns relating to sustainable environment issues.

Retta Bowen, from the Natural Death Centre, said that a tree is planted as opposed to a memorial stone, and the body, which is usually in a cardboard coffin, helps to fertilise the tree.

Other eco-friendly initiatives include not using formaldahyde to embalm bodies and placing the body in bio-degradable clothing.

Ms Bowen said: "It gives people a greater degree of participation for the people organising the funeral. It reflects the person."

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council has been trying to set up one of these sites for nearly two years.

In September 2000, an area of Guisborough Cemetery was chosen as the proposed site because the ground is considered too wet for regular excavation of graves and a normal maintenance regime seen in most cemeteries.

Since then 18 trees have been planted as well as a selection of bulbs, and a footpath has been covered in wood chippings. A pergola has also been installed as an entrance feature.

The authority said the area will be maintained by simply cutting the grass once a year so that the area will develop into a natural habitat.

The site will house 39 side-by-side graves. Because the area will be managed as a woodland, memorials and floral tributes will be banned so the area can maintain a natural feel. Families will be allowed to erect memorial plaques on seats around the cemetery.

At a meeting of the council's executive earlier this week, where the plans were approved, Councillor Sylvia Szintai said: "I welcome this. Maybe not a lot of people will apply for it but at least we are offering it."