A CORONAVIRUS temporary morgue built in Lancashire in case of a spike in deaths overwhelmed hospitals and funeral directors has been closed.

It was constructed in the spring at BAE Systems at Warton with capacity to house 1,000 deceased as the Covid-19 pandemic swept the country.

But the emergency morgue, which opened on April 20, was never needed and was mothballed in May.

Now Lancashire County Council (which built it) and the Lancashire Resilience Forum (which commissioned it) have decided to close it.

The two bodies have concluded that capacity within the existing system, especially after the local NHS expanded its local provision, means there is enough permanent accommodation for the deceased to cope with demand in the future.

The temporary morgue was built to make sure the county could respond to the emergency whilst ensuring the deceased continued to be treated with dignity and respect before they were laid to rest.

It was aimed at taking the remains of coronavirus victims from the Lancashire County Council, Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool Council areas if needed.

BAE Systems provided the site and access to utilities free of charge to support the people of Lancashire and help them to deal with the crisis.

Cllr Geoff Driver, leader of Lancashire County Council, said: "Following a review the decision has been made to decommission this facility.

"I am truly thankful that it never had to be used despite the sad increase in bereavements in Lancashire because of this awful virus.

"The Lancashire Resilience Forum is now confident that there is sufficient capacity in the current system if there was to be an increase in cases.

"But I would really urge people to continue to follow all the measures to ensure this does not happen and the virus does not spread.

"I am very grateful to all the mortuaries and funeral directors who the Lancashire Resilience Forum are working with, and to BAE for providing this site when we needed to ensure we had all contingencies covered."

The temporary morgue was designed as a place to keep the deceased until they can be laid to rest.

It was never licensed under the Human Tissue Act for activities such as post-mortem examinations to be carried out.