A woodland burial site is an idea to be funded with money from a spinster's will.

When Mary Shaw left £100,000 to Worthing Borough Council she specified the money should be used for a project which the council could not otherwise fund.

Councillor Peter Green has suggested the money could be spent on converting a field next to Findon crematorium into a burial site, with trees planted on each grave.

His idea is being considered by council chief executive Sheryl Grady and will be put before councillors.

Coun Green said the burial ground could be named after Miss Shaw's late brother, John, who was employed in the council's rates department all his working life. She left the money, part of a £900,000 legacy, in memory of John, who died in 1984.

Coun Green said: "It would be nice to name it after John. Trees could be planted on graves and grow to be a woodland.

"A lot of people are opting for woodland burials because they are greener and don't produce all the gas of a cremation."

Until now, the main option being considered for the money was a transformation of Liverpool Gardens, Worthing, into a "restful calm haven" complete with new paths, fencing and a fountain.

But the executor of the will expressed concern about the amount of rubbish littering the existing gardens from a nearby McDonald's and said he did not want the project to go ahead unless a new litter policy was put in place.

Coun Green said: "An article in The Argus about the rubbish made me think about the woodland burial.

"When I heard the garden plans were in jeopardy I thought I would speak to the council about my idea."

Head of environmental services Haydn Smith said he thought Coun Green's plan was sensible.

He said: "There is a demand for informal burials and this is something we want to look at. It is a reasonable suggestion and worthy of consideration."

Miss Shaw died on May 9 last year and left money to several churches and charities.