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03-16-08, 12:00 PM
Funeral directors forced to use mechanical digger to lower 52-stone man into giant grave
http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/03_02/25StoneMan2PA_468x321.jpg
A 52-stone man was winched into his giant grave today - with the help of a mechanical digger.
It took four hours to lower the body of Christian Jeffrey, who has no known relatives, into the ground.
Just a solitary “good Samaritan” attended the 29-year-old's council-paid funeral service.
Mr Jeffrey's coffin was more than twice the size of a typical casket and gravediggers spent five days preparing the 4ft 8ins x 7ft 8ins hole.
A 4ft x 7ft coffin using reinforced MDF had been made for Mr Jeffrey, who was originally from London but had been sleeping rough in Taunton.
The Rev Geoff Boucher read a series of prayers in a five-minute service at St James Cemetery.
He said: "The most important thing for us was that he was allowed to be laid to rest in dignity. It was the least he deserved."
A plaque on the coffin's lid read "peace perfect peace".
Dave Butler, cemetery groundsman, 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.
Mr Butler, 48, who has worked at the cemetery for four years, said: "There have been six of us working on the site and all our backs are aching.
"It's been the biggest job I've been involved in by a long way.
"It usually takes us two days at most to prepare graves - and that's when they've been dug by hand.
"This one has taken us five days and we had the use of a digger. It has been a real team effort."
He added: "It's a tragic story that he was so young yet had no friends or relatives - but at least we've given him a good send-off."
A spokeswoman for Taunton Deane Borough Council said the funeral cost £800.
Full Story & More Photos (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=533888&in_page_id=1770)
http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/03_02/25StoneMan2PA_468x321.jpg
A 52-stone man was winched into his giant grave today - with the help of a mechanical digger.
It took four hours to lower the body of Christian Jeffrey, who has no known relatives, into the ground.
Just a solitary “good Samaritan” attended the 29-year-old's council-paid funeral service.
Mr Jeffrey's coffin was more than twice the size of a typical casket and gravediggers spent five days preparing the 4ft 8ins x 7ft 8ins hole.
A 4ft x 7ft coffin using reinforced MDF had been made for Mr Jeffrey, who was originally from London but had been sleeping rough in Taunton.
The Rev Geoff Boucher read a series of prayers in a five-minute service at St James Cemetery.
He said: "The most important thing for us was that he was allowed to be laid to rest in dignity. It was the least he deserved."
A plaque on the coffin's lid read "peace perfect peace".
Dave Butler, cemetery groundsman, 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.
Mr Butler, 48, who has worked at the cemetery for four years, said: "There have been six of us working on the site and all our backs are aching.
"It's been the biggest job I've been involved in by a long way.
"It usually takes us two days at most to prepare graves - and that's when they've been dug by hand.
"This one has taken us five days and we had the use of a digger. It has been a real team effort."
He added: "It's a tragic story that he was so young yet had no friends or relatives - but at least we've given him a good send-off."
A spokeswoman for Taunton Deane Borough Council said the funeral cost £800.
Full Story & More Photos (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=533888&in_page_id=1770)