728 pound man buried with the help of digger

It took a mechanical digger, a team of cemetery workers and a hoist to lay 52-stone John Jeffrey to rest.

His grave, at 4ft 8in by 7ft 8in, was twice the normal size.

And funeral workers struggled for four hours to manoeuvre his reinforced casket into position.



Everyone did their best to give the big man a dignified send-off. A plaque on the coffin said: "Peace, perfect peace."

But there was no one to shed a tear for the 29-year-old who had no known relatives.

Just a solitary Good Samaritan - believed to be a local care worker-turned up to pay his respects at the £800 council-paid funeral in Taunton, Somerset. John - originally from London - had been sleeping rough in the town when he died of a heart attack at a hostel.

More photos here.