INDEPENDENT funeral directors, A.J. Wakely & Sons now in its fifth generation, is welcoming the New Year with excitement.

2016 sees the family-run business celebrate 30 years of service in Chard.

A.J. Wakely & Sons has been serving the bereaved since 1897 when it opened the first office in Beaminster.

Not only celebrating 30 prosperous years of business in Chard, 2016 is a year of investment for A.J. Wakely & Sons with a brand new fleet of Jaguar hearses and limousines to offer the highest quality service to customers together with a converted Land Rover Defender Hearse recently added to the fleet.

Clive Wakely, managing director said: “Previous generations would be so proud to see how far the business has come today.

"The directors together with our manager Paul Whitmore are continuing to invest for the future to make sure we offer the best service possible to our clients and the bereaved.

“It is a fantastic achievement to celebrate 30 years of trading in Chard and we look forward to continuing our association in the town and district.”

Although a lot of tradition still resides, the funeral industry has seen much change in the past 30 years. A.J. Wakely & Sons works happily with local churches and community groups seeking to provide a more inclusive and broad spectrum to the service they provide.