Nearly £100,000 has been spent by councils in Kent on paupers' funerals over the last year, with families unable or unwilling to cover the costs of their loved ones' arrangements.

Councils across the county spent a total of £95,324 on funerals for people who had no one able to arrange or pay for their burial or cremation.

Ashford Borough Council spent a total of £4,211 on public health funerals over the 2017-18 financial year, according to a Freedom of Information request submitted by mutual insurer Royal London.

Despite providing more such funerals in 2017-18, the amount spent by the council decreased by 25% compared with 2016-17.

The Local Government Association said there are thousands of people across the country “with no family or friends to care for them or arrange, attend or pay for their funeral”.

Public health funerals, which are sometimes known as paupers' funerals, are 'no frills' services provided by authorities, which in general include a coffin and the services of a funeral director but do not include flowers, obituaries or transport for family members.

Families can attend services if they want to and just three were carried out in Ashford during the period.

Elsewhere, Dartford Borough Council spent just £600 of public health funds during the same financial period which paid for just one person's funeral.

Dartford has the same arrangements as other local authorities and applies the same eligibility criteria, but said demand can vary from year to year.

In Dover nine people were given paupers' funerals with Dover District Council spending £13,614 on them during the financial year.

Despite providing more public health funerals in 2017-18, the amount spent by the council decreased by 21% compared with 2016-17.

In Folkestone and Hythe last year, as more families are unable or unwilling to cover the costs of their loved ones' arrangements, the district council spent a total of £10,578 on such funerals during the period.

There were 11 carried out in Folkestone and Hythe in 2017-18, compared with nine in 2016-17.

The amount spent the council on public health funerals in 2017-18 increased by 60% compared with 2016-17.

In Gravesham three people received such funerals at a cost of £3,253 Gravesham Borough Council.

The amount spent by the authority on public health funerals in 2017-18 increased by 56% compared with the year before.

In Maidstone eight people were given paupers' funerals last year with Maidstone Borough Council spent a total of £6,296 on such services.

The year before there were four such funerals and the amount spent by the authority on such funerals in 2017-18 increased by 93% compared with the previous year.

In Medway the authority spent £12,425 on public health funerals during the period.

There were eight carried out in Medway in 2017-18 and despite providing more such funerals during the period, the amount spent by Medway Council decreased by 28% compared with 2016-17.

Sevenoaks District Council spent a total of £9,563 on four funerals, compared with three in 2016-17.

The amount spent by the authority in 2017-18 increased by 90% compared with the previous year.

Swale Borough Council spent a total of £11,091 when it carried seven people's funerals, compared with five in 2016-17.

The amount spent by the council 2017-18 increased by 53% compared with the previous year.

In Thanet 17 such funerals were carried out which saw Thanet District Council spend a total of £14,542 during the period.

Fourteen were carried out the year before and the amount spent by authority on public health funerals in 2017-18 increased by 46% compared with the previous year.

Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council spent a total of £4,686 during the period which provided funerals for three people.

The amount spent by the authority in 2017-18 increased by 41% compared with the year before.

Elsewhere, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council spent a total of £4,465 on seven funerals.

Despite providing more such funerals during the financial year, the amount spent by the council decreased by 33% compared with 2016-17.

The total cost of public health funerals across the country during was more than £5 million, according to Royal London, which received responses from 275 local authorities.

"More support is needed to help those struggling with funeral costs." - Louise Eaton-Terry

Canterbury City Council did not respond to the Freedom of Information request.

More than 3,800 such funerals were carried out across the UK last year, costing councils an average of £1,403.

Nearly a third (31%) of families who turned to their local council to provide a funeral did so because they were unable to foot the bill, Royal London found.

The mutual insurer said the average cost of a basic funeral is £3,757.

Other reasons for public health funerals included the deceased having no family, and families being unwilling to pay for the funeral.

Louise Eaton-Terry, a funeral cost expert at Royal London, said: "More support is needed to help those struggling with funeral costs."

An Local Government Association spokesman added: "Public health funerals are a last resort but, where there is no-one able to pay for a funeral, councils will hold one in a respectful and dignified way.

"Councils will try to establish whether the deceased had any religious requirements to enable them to respect their wishes in the provision of a burial or cremation."

"The increase in these funerals is an extra pressure on over-stretched council budgets which pay for them."

The figures also do not take into the account funerals paid for by the NHS when people die in hospital.