A Highland hostel owner’s wish to be buried in the grounds of his business has been denied because of water pollution fears.
Instead Gerry Howkins has been interred several miles away from his home at Lochcarron Cemetery.
The keen environmentalist had planned for his body to be laid to rest in his garden at Craig, near Achnashellach in Glen Carron, with an oak tree marking the spot.
But his family soon discovered there were strict rules governing burials on private grounds and had to change the location of his funeral service this week after he died.
Two streams flow down each side of Gerry’s Hostel – the oldest independent hostel in Scotland – providing water for his home and the other two former railway cottages which make up the accommodation block.
And Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) rules state that burials cannot take place on private grounds within 54 yards of any spring or 11 yards from a field drain.
Mr Howkins died at his home of a suspected heart attack on February 11.
His ex-partner and friend, Chris Calder, paid tribute to the 76-year-old father-of-one who founded the hostel in 1964 and was known by tourists all over the world.
The 71-year-old said Mr Howkins was a man who loved nature and was keen to do as much as he could to help save the planet and be kind to the environment.
Miss Calder, of Lancashire, added: “He wanted buried in the garden with an oak tree on top but that’s not going to happen now unfortunately. He’s got a stream either side that comes down and you’ve got to be buried 10 metres (11 yards) at least away from water in case you pollute it.
“So he’s going to be buried at the cemetery at Lochcarron.
“He wanted his body to decompose and he wanted the oak tree to take life from it. He was a very green man, he wanted to save the planet. He never burned coal or plastic.”
Miss Calder said: “Gerry was his own man. He stuck to what he believed in and you have to admire him for that because most of us don’t do that. He started off and kept the hostel as hostels started out which was basic, self-catering accommodation.
“He knocked through the three cottages and put a doorway through each so they joined up. He kept the Victorian ranges in each cottage and he only burned wood, he was a green planet man so his ethos was no radios, no television and a good fire.