BEREAVED families have been given two new ways to pay their respects to their loved ones.

A memorial wall and a series of planters have been created in the West Cemetery in Darlington for people to commemorate relatives who have died.

Until now, people who wanted to mark the death of someone after a cremation could put their name on a commemorative vase, but the cemetery has run out of space to display the vases, so the two new schemes have been created.

The cross-shaped memorial wall is in the new garden of remembrance at the cemetery.

Families can pay for a red granite plaque to be put on the wall for a period of seven, 12 or 17 years.

At the end of that time, the can renew their lease of a plaque or the space will be reused.

A Darlington Borough Council spokeswoman said: "This system of leasing a space on the wall will keep the memorial relevant to those who are remembering a loved one.

"Often families move away or die out and so a plaque may no longer be appropriate. It means if we need to we can reuse space on the wall."

There is a quiet seating area near the new wall, which is close to the children's garden of remembrance.

The council spokeswoman said: "People will be able to sit and mediate and think about their loved ones.

"At the foot of the wall we have planted some flowers which we will maintain to give the area a sense of uniformity and order."

The council has also produced a number of octagonal planters which can have up to 48 memorial plaques attached to them.

These planters will be put in both the old and new gardens of remembrance.

The council has already had reservations for 25 plaques and is expecting a good response to the new schemes.

The spokeswoman said: "There are leaflets available explaining both schemes and the cost and the response has been encouraging already.

"We hope people will like the new schemes which provide a way for families to remember their loved ones."