A CREMATORIUM recycling scheme which reuses parts of coffins and even surgical implants has helped bag St Helena Hospice a £7,000 windfall.

Colchester Crematorium joined the Institute of Crematorium and Cemetery Management (ICCM) scheme last year and bosses were asked to nominate a charity to receive a share of the cash from the combined sale of metals recovered at crematoriums nationwide.

The hospice was chosen as it was one of several charities being supported by Colchester's mayoress Ann Chillingworth.

The scheme sees metals which survive the cremation process recycled and usually consist of iron and steel used in coffins but can also include titanium which can sometimes be found in surgical implants.

A cheque for £7,000 was presented by Mrs Chillingworth to the hospice's corporate fundraising manager Sarah Wilson who was join by Colchester Council's portfolio holder for customers Beverley Oxford.

Mrs Chillingworth said: “I am delighted and extremely grateful to ICCM for supporting our nomination and awarding St Helena such a generous amount from its metal recycling scheme.

“I’m certain all the bereaved families who helped make this donation possible will welcome it being used to support the hospice, which does such wonderful work to care for people in the final stages of life and their families.”

Mrs Oxford added: “I’m so very proud of the work our bereavement service provides all year round and the substantial amount of money it has helped to raise for St Helena since joining the recycling scheme.

“It can be comforting for families to know, during what is an unbearably difficult time, that the passing of a loved one can contribute to such an important and enduring legacy – both for the charities that benefit financially from the scheme but also by helping to recycle and conserve scarce natural resources.”

Ms Wilson said: “We are so grateful to be chosen to receive this generous donation.

"We rely on our local community for two-thirds of our funding, so receiving donations such as this is vital to ensure we can continue to care for local people facing incurable illness and bereavement.

"We would like to say a huge thank you to all the members of the scheme who voted for St Helena.”