UNDERTAKERS could dissolve corpses in chemicals then flush the remains into the sewage system under plans being studied by European bureaucrats.

The controversial method has been hailed as a much more ecologically sound method of dealing with the dead.

But critics have branded the procedure, driven by a Scottish company, as "disturbing" and claim it shows no respect for the recently departed.

The process is called chemical hydrolysis and has been used in the destruction of cattle found to have mad cow disease.

The body is placed in a silk bag, itself placed within a metal cage frame. This is then loaded into a Resomator.

The machine is filled with a mixture of water and potassium hydroxide, and set to 180C.

The end result is a small quantity of green-brown liquid containing amino acids, peptides, sugars and salts.

Soft, porous white bone remains are easily crushed, and can then be returned to the next of kin.

The liquid can be recycled back to the ecosystem by being applied to a memorial garden or forest or simply put into the sewage system.

Sandy Sullivan, managing director of Resomation, said:

"(People) like the environmental benefits and the thought of going the water route, as opposed to burial or fire."