HINDUS are saving thousands of pounds by casting their relatives' ashes into the Thames rather than taking them to the River Ganges in India.

According to Hinduism, the ashes of the dead must be cast into a river as part of their last rites.

Any Hindu family who can afford it, is supposed to send its relatives' ashes to India's most holy river, the Ganges.

However, families in  Greenwich are saving around £700 per person on a trip to India by using a service offered by a ferry company which will send a boat out onto the Thames to perform the ritual for £50 a fraction of the cost of a trip to India.

Based in the Isle of Dogs, City Cruises, takes up to 50 friends and relatives on a half-hour trip from Cherry Garden Pier.

The firm's sales manager Ian Faris, said: “This is a popular service where predominantly Asian families are taken to a quite spot on the river to perform the final rites of passage on their loved ones.”

Strictly speaking disposing of any waste into rivers is illegal, but the Environment Agency, which is responsible for waterways in Britain, is turning a blind eye to the practice.

Environment Agency officer Tessa van den Burghe said: “Strictly speaking it is not allowed as it is considered waste. But it is not a huge amount and we do not consider it a problem.”

It is not new for Hindus to use the Thames as an alternative to the Ganges when families cannot get to India.

Greenwich Hindu Temple secretary Vidya Misru said: “Ideally the deceased are sent back to their spiritual home in India where their ashes can be cast with a prayer into the holy Ganges.

“But sometimes this is not possible and in these circumstances the Thames is used as an alternative.”

Lives could be put at risk if plans for thousands of homes on the River Thames flood plain go-ahead, it is claimed.

Severe flooding could hit London unless underground water levels are properly controlled, the GLA warns.