Products which enable a loved one’s ashes to be worn as jewellery or returned to nature among the trees have earned an Essex company an award.

Secure Haven Independent Funeral Directors, in Margaretting, attended the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management Learning Convention and Exhibition and came away with a trophy.

The Best Exhibition Stand award was voted for by the 125 delegates, speakers and invited guests at the event in Oxford.

Managing director Cheryl Yarwood, who runs the company with husband Paul, picked up the award for the display of their extensive range of innovative products and green concepts for helping the bereaved lay their loved ones’ ashes to rest.

Secure Haven offers brass urns to take pride of place in the home, environmentally-friendly urns enabling loved ones to be put to rest along with nature, plus a range of modern silver jewellery with discreet compartments for ashes to be stored.

Cheryl, who has researched and sourced the products from around the world, said: “This demonstrates how times and needs are changing and the industry’s decision-makers are embracing new innovation to help bereaved families.

“It was a great honour to receive this award for the efforts of everyone at Secure Haven. Now Secure Haven has become a tranquil funeral home, too, we can assist families before they need our services, all the way through their journey to grief recovery.”

More than 80 exhibitors represented 38 companies from all aspects of the industry at the event.

Members of cemeteries and crematoria picked up the latest information on topics from new environmental forms or disposal to the financial cost of unaddressed grief in the workplace on the day.