MEMBERS of a Worcester mosque are planning to open a morgue in a derelict garage.

City planning chiefs confirmed The Jamia Ghoushia Central Mosque, at Tallow Hill, had put in a bid to change the building's usage under the title of the "Mortuary Suite Conversion".

Peter Yates, principal planning officer at Worcester City Council, said the mosque had recently bought the old county training centre and garage next to St Paul's Hostel for the Homeless.

The conversion plans were currently at the consultation stage, he said. It was not clear when they would be brought before the planning committee.

Mosque member Tariq Hussain, aged 36, said it was a "most needed" facility for Worcester and would help Muslims observe their Islamic faith.

"I don't think the mortuary will cause any problems - it'll help us to carry out Islamic rituals," he said.

"We offer prayers and verses to the body until it's buried and there's nowhere to do this in Worcester at the moment. The nearest facilities are in Birmingham."

Mr Hussain, who lives off Wyld's Lane, said the morgue was also needed because Worcester's Muslim community was growing and younger generations were now considering burial in Britain rather than overseas.

Architect Graham Bacon, who is behind the privately-funded plans, said the mortuary was "small and simplistic".

"It's a small room incorporated into what was previously a small domestic garage," he said. "There's a storage facility for up to three bodies."

Councillor Allah Ditta said he was "surprised" this further application had been put forward because planning permission had previously been granted to build a two-storey mortuary on disused ground towards the bottom of the site, away from the hostel.

Terri Preece, St Paul's Hostel co-ordinator, declined to comment on the proposals at this stage.