THERE is no room to bury the dead in Ashburton, town councillors have been told.

The crisis was revealed at their last meeting when members were told the St Andrew's graveyard was full.

Any Ashburtonians wishing to be buried six feet under in their home town would have to lie elsewhere for eternity.

One aged townswoman declared after the revelation: 'I've lived in Ashburton all my life. This is where I want to rest in peace and now that might not happen.'

She hated the idea that her mortal remains might have their final refuge in faraway Newton Abbot or its surrounding towns.