A gardening student from Penwortham is drawing up plans for the area's new green graveyard.

Green-fingered, Tracey McClelland, 39, of Leyland Road, Middleforth, will spend the next two months draughting proposals for the site at Penwortham Cemetery, in Hill Road.

Mrs McClelland is one of 25 students on a gardening degree course at Myerscough College who are all putting forward proposals to Penwortham Town Council which owns the site.

The eco-friendly woodland, which could accommodate around 500 plots, will mean people could be buried in biodegradable boxes made of bamboo, wicker, corrugated cardboard or in a cotton shroud.

The mother-of-one said she wants to put together a plan of intricate pathways lined with trees so that from the bottom of the sloped site, at Valley Road, it will look like a well-maintained field.

"Keeping it natural is really important to me," said Mrs McClelland, who lives with husband, Andrew and daughter, Megan, three. "Green graveyards are a great idea and I want to keep it as close to how it would naturally be as possible."

Rather than traditional headstones people will be able to buy remembrance benches dedicated to their loved ones. Families will be free to mark the event with a ceremony of their choosing, either a traditional religious occasion or an alternative.

Fellow student Alison Ryan, 42, of Higher Greenfield, said: "Hopefully the council will take elements from all the plans rather than just one."

Steve Caswell, Penwortham town manager, said: "The Town Council is delighted to be working with partnership with Myerscough College on this project."