A PENSIONER'S ashes will be scattered in the sky amid exploding stars tonight as part of a spectacular celebration of her life.

The ashes will be blown into the night air by fireworks in the garden of her home in the Groves area of York, during a party held by her family.

York funeral director Hayley Owen said she was preparing to help the family send the pensioner off in style by sprinkling some of her ashes on top of two firework cakes.

"They saw on my website I offered a firework option and with Bonfire Night coming up decided to go for it," she said.

"The family feel she would have loved the idea. She will be going up with the stars.

"She was in her 70s and had been very poorly for the past 12 to 15 years and they wanted to invite friends who had stuck with her to come along and celebrate her life.

"There are 16 shots in each firework and I am putting some of the ashes in each tube, so they will be scattered with stars that will explode in the sky.

"It will be a celebration of her life - and there will be lots of Prosecco drunk."

The fireworks cost between £30 and 80, and can be bought from firework shops.

Hayley said the family had decided on the party instead of a formal service at York Crematorium, where she was recently cremated.

She added that it was part of a growing trend for people to hold funerals that were a little different - for example with brightly coloured or patterned coffins.

She said she was set to hire a motorbike with a sidecar able to carry a coffin for the funeral of a biker, and some people chose to use a camper van or Morris Minor instead of a traditional hearse.

The firework celebration follows a growing trend for unusual funerals, with a recent poll showing that one in seven people were now making special requests such as pink coffins.

The survey showed funerals were becoming less "stuffy" and more personal, with many ditching traditional black attire and hymns in favour of clothes or songs that meant something to the deceased.

One Star Wars fan is even said to have requested everyone to wear costumes from the long-running film franchise, with the funeral director donning a Darth Vader costume.