Bereaved Highland families are to be offered the chance to have their loved ones’ funeral streamed via the internet.
Staff at Inverness Crematorium are preparing to offer the free service, with trials starting by the end of this week.
Crematorium staff, funeral directors, or private individuals will film the funeral service and use wifi connections or mobile internet to broadcast it live.
In Inverness, one camera will cover the catafalque and lectern and the sound will be recorded through the PA system.
The funeral director or bereaved will request the service to be streamed and obtain a unique link to the streaming which they can then forward on to people they want to see it.
It will not be public.
The service can be recorded at the same time so that if people are unavailable at the time of the service, or if they have a poor internet connection, they can watch after the funeral has taken place.
Councillor Allan Henderson said: “We understand the difficulty that ongoing restrictions to funeral services due to the pandemic are having on those who are bereaved and our thoughts go to families and friends who have lost loved ones during this difficult time.
“It is expected that the option to have services streamed at Inverness crematorium can be offered by the end of this week on a trial basis.
“We hope families and friends grieving for loved ones will find having this option helpful while the Covid-19 restrictions on numbers able to attend funeral services in person are still in place.”