Funeral directors forced to use different means to lower man into grave

728 pound man buried with the help of backhoe.

It took a backhoe and a team of cemetery workers to lay John Jeffrey to rest.

His grave, at 4ft 8in by 7ft 8in, was twice the normal size.
Dave Butler, cemetery grounds man, said the grave was "twice as big" as any other he had heard of.
Mr Jeffrey was buried rather than cremated because his body was too wide, he added.
Funeral workers struggled for four hours to maneuver his reinforced casket into position.

Everyone did their best to give the big man a dignified send-off. But there was no one to shed a tear for the 29-year-old who had no known relatives. Just a solitary Good Samaritan - believed to be a local care worker-turned up to pay his respects at the £800 council-paid funeral in Taunton, Somerset. More photos here.