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An expert from the University of Bath is looking at how heat produced from crematoria could be used to produce electricity.

Dr John Troyer, from the university's Centre for Death and Society, has been carrying out research at Haycombe Cemetery and Crematorium in the city and believes that electricity could be produced to sell back to the National Grid.

He has been working on the project for over a year and has found that new crematoria could be built with the technology to capture heat and use it for energy.

Dr Troyer's work follows debate in both Cardiff and Redditch, where local councils have proposed using energy from crematoriums to heat local authority buildings, including a swimming pool.

The idea has been met with some resistance from local people, but Dr Troyer believes that being open and honest about the process is the key to getting the public to understand and accept the concept.

He said: "Introducing changes like this can cause initial shock, but like other changes I think it will soon become part of the funeral process and widely accepted.

"If the body is buried there is a transfer of energy but it is a much slower form. What this represents is a significant new way in thinking about the dead body and how it is taken care of."