AN in-depth study is to be carried out on the site of Preston's London Road running track in a bid to see if it can be used as a muslim graveyard.

Leading figures in the town's muslim community claim the borough is desperately short of spaces to bury their dead, with their allotted space inside the main cemetery on Miller Road almost full.

Unlike other religions cremation is not an option for the muslim community, leaving the community with no choice but to look for a dedicated burial site for future use.

And one of their prime targets - as the Citizen revealed in June - is the London Road Running track, which is soon to be disposed of by the borough council.

Despite opposition from councillors, who favour a plan to use the site as the new base for Preston Baseball Club, Preston's Muslim Burial and Welfare Society are planning to conduct a study into the suitability of the site, taking into consideration issues such as soil type and the possibility of the development releasing contamination as the site is also a former tip.

Councillors on the finance and property sub committee were informed of progress this week.

A council spokesman said: "We have been told the Preston Muslim Burial and Welfare Society is preparing a brief for a firm of consulting engineers to undertake a feasibility study of their proposal to purchase the site from the council, if and where declared vacant, and convert it to a burial ground for the muslim community.

County Councillor Vali Ahmed Patel, chairman of the burial society, said: "It would be possible to make funerals cheaper here. Our new site needs to be in the town centre because muslims tend to visit graves more."

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