Many of us express where we would like our funeral to take place after we pass away, but few anticipate that the building could have been transformed from a church to a supermarket!

Hazel Wilson, from Creekmoor was horrified when she discovered that Westbourne Methodist Church, (the place she had hoped her funeral would be conducted), is now to become a Tesco Express!

Showing me a copy of her will, with wishes for her funeral to be held there, Hazel explains that all the important church moments in her life happened at Westbourne Methodist.

“I was baptised as a baby, went through Sunday School, youth club and was married there,” she said. “My mother and grandparents attended and I wanted my own funeral there.

“I understand they cannot keep it as a place of worship because youngsters are just not going now, but I am sad that my final church moment will have to be somewhere else. After all, I don’t really fancy an express swipe card funeral, although it would be interesting to discover how many Tesco points my family would get for me!”

Rev Bob McKinley from Bournemouth Methodist Circuit said it is not unusual for a person’s funeral to be held somewhere other than where they expected.

“Often wills are made some time before the death of a person, so buildings are not always there or the family decide that a church with very few people inside it was not what their relative would have expected at the funeral, so the venue is changed,” Bob explained. “In Hazel’s case we would probably do it in another Methodist church, or the nearest we could get to what she would want.

“The main thing about a funeral is that it’s a gathering of friends and relatives honouring the deceased in the way the deceased would appreciate. But obviously a supermarket would not be appropriate!”