People are being offered the chance to see what happens behind the scenes at a newly opened crematorium in Norfolk.

Breckland Crematorium, in Norwich Road, Scoulton, will be taking visitors on tours around the site which officially opened on July 1 this year.

The public open day will take place from 10am to 3pm on Saturday October 5, which will give guests the chance to look around the grounds, the chapel and they will be given the rare opportunity to explore where the cremations actually take place.

Nathan Rollings, crematorium manager, said: "We have two cremators controlled individually by a computer system, there is an also an automatic loader.

"The coffin goes all the way into the cremator and there is a gas burner at the back. Air is injected into the cremator from the sides and smoke is taken out through holes.

"When we charge the cremator, it has to be a minimum of 800 degrees and when it is at its hottest it can be anywhere between 900 to 1050 degrees. The average length of time for a cremation is an hour and a half."

Within this room is another machine called the 'cremulator' which has the job of refining the remains into fine ashes.

"After the cremator it is not ash." said Mr Rollings.

"The public sometimes think that how the ashes come out of the cremator is how they get it back. But the cremulator is a machine that refines what's left into dust."

On the open day Breckland Crematorium will also be able to address worries about smoke and air pollutants, by showing visitors the extensive filtration system and how the process works.

Mr Rollings said: "Everything is controlled by an environmental health permit. There is no smoke that comes out of this building just hot air.

"We have a huge filter and machinery. Pollution is a genuine concern but if you see the technology in place, you can see how much of a clean process it is."

Despite controversy over the build of this crematorium, since opening in July it has already hosted 176 cremations and workers say that the families have been pleased with its services.