A council has been criticised for acting "too late" to address a Norfolk town running out of space to bury its dead.

Deborah Hanneghan, a Labour councillor in King's Lynn, questioned why investigations to find new cemetery plots in the town are only just beginning, despite the problem being known "for some time".

West Norfolk Council (WNC) expects the Gayton Road Cemetery to run out of space by next year, with just 55 viable plots remaining.

Gayton Road Cemetery, which is running out of grave plots (Image: Google)

Problems at the site have been caused by rising groundwater levels, with the high water table rendering more than half of its 5,400 plots "non-compliant" to Environment Agency regulations.

At an environment and community panel meeting this week, Ms Heneghan, who is the deputy leader of the Labour opposition group at WNC, said: "This has obviously been a problem we have known about for some time and I'm really worried it has been left this late."

Deborah Heneghan, deputy leader of the Labour group at West Norfolk Council (Image: Newsquest)

Simon Ring, deputy leader of the independent coalition-controlled authority, acknowledged it "had been a long journey" before getting to this point.

He said: "This has been a can that has been kicked down the road... We are grasping this nettle and dealing with it now."

Simon Ring, deputy leader of West Norfolk Council (Image: Simon Ring)

Officers are currently reviewing other suitable locations in the Lynn area, including an adjacent allotment that had planning permission for 800 plots.

But groundwater levels have also been deemed too high following recent investigations.

No other suitable site has been identified within the King's Lynn settlement boundary but 44 other cemetery sites in the borough will be reassessed.

Of these, 19 are within two miles of the town and a further 25 are within three miles of Lynn.

Gayton Road Cemetery, which could be closed to new burials next year because it is running out of graves (Image: Ian Burt)

It could take until 2029 before a new cemetery site is opened for new burials.

Other options include using Hunstanton cemetery, which could provide spaces for a further 10 years.

A representative for local funeral directors, Andrew Thornalley, was also present at the meeting and expressed his disappointment at not being invited to previous discussions.

Councillors voted to recommend the council urgently review all sites within a suitable distance of King's Lynn to find a solution "as quickly as possible".