WINCHESTER is running out of burial plots, councillors heard as they backed an increased budget to extend the city's only major cemetery.

Magdalen Hill Cemetery, also known as Morn Hill, is set to be expanded for the first time since 1932, with 5,000 new plots expected to extend its life for up to 40 years.

Officers say the cost of the project, given planning permission in April, has exceeded the current £135,000 budget.

Winchester Town Forum supported plans to allocate up to £40,000 more.

He promised to pass on concerns from Cllr James Byrnes, who has relatives buried near a proposed new path and asked for reassurance that their plots won't be disturbed.

He also questioned a system which meant Morn Hill plots, subsidised by the forum, cost more for residents of other parts of the Winchester district.