Pre-paid funerals warning

LEGISLATION could be introduced to control the booming industry in pre-paid funerals, the head of the Office of Fair Trading warned yesterday.

Sir Bryan Carsberg, OFT director-general, told BBC 2's The Money Programme that new laws were a 'distinct possibility'. Under the schemes, customers buy a funeral at today's prices; the money is invested and pays for the arrangements when the customer dies.

The growth in the industry and the large sums involved led to an OFT investigation.