Cancer counselling charity We Hear You (WHY) is celebrating a £10,000 donation from Haycombe Cemetery and Crematorium in Bath, via a metal recycling scheme.

The national scheme is run by not-for-profit organisation Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management and means metal such as artificial hip joints, rods and screws that cannot be cremated are recycled, generating charitable donations. To qualify for donations from the scheme, charities must support people affected by bereavement or terminal illness. Previous local beneficiaries include the RUH Forever Friends Appeal, Make a Wish Foundation and Cruse Bereavement Support. We Hear You provides free professional counselling to children and adults affected by cancer and life-threatening conditions in BANES, Somerset and Wiltshire and is benefitting from the scheme for the first time. Fundraising and Communications Manager Gemma Wilkes says:

"Thank you so much to Haycombe Cemetery and Crematorium and Bath & North East Somerset Council. This donation will make a huge difference to WHY in what has been a very challenging year. At We Hear You we understand the enormous emotional impact of a terminal diagnosis or the loss of a loved one. Many thanks to the generous individuals who consented to participate in the scheme and thought of others and of course to the Council and the staff at the crematorium for thinking of WHY."

Councillor Paul Crossley, cabinet member for Community Services at Bath & North East Somerset Council said: "I'm pleased we've been able to support the essential work of WHY. At a time when so many of us are distanced from our loved ones, its important people feel they can talk to someone about their feelings and try to make sense of what is happening.

"We always respectfully retrieve the cremated remains of a loved one, but metal items used as part of surgery are often recovered from the cremator. The most responsible way to dispose of them, with permission of the family, is to recycle them. We feel it's only right the money raised goes to support charities and I hope people who are bereaved take comfort from that."

More information about the ICCM, see iccm-uk.com/iccm/. To contact Haycombe Crematorium Cemetery and Crematorium, 01225 396020 or email [email protected]. To access WHY's free counselling service, call 01373 455255 or email [email protected].