Concrete interlocking graves installed above ground or buried in waste ground could be the answer to Bicester's cemetery crisis, according to a town councillor.

Bicester Town Council leader Debbie Pickford warned this week that the town's cemetery, in Pingle Field, could be full in just 12 months.

And she said it was time to look at alternative burial methods because of problems finding land suitable for traditional graves.

But the idea prompted one councillor to describe the system as like sardines in a can.

Miss Pickford told councillors a specialist cemetery architecture company could provide the solution.

She said: "We can put burials in different materials - waterproof materials - which can go over the ground or under the ground.

"They basically put all the casks in, so there aren't any gaps in between.

"It doesn't matter what land you put it in - you could go in contaminated ground, waste ground, land that you could never build on because it's flood plain.

"If we don't change tack and try an alternative, we will never get our land."

Handing councillors a CD-Rom showing how the graves could look, Miss Pickford said: "You might find it a bit of a shock because it's different. Try not to look at the aesthetics and design but the engineering of it."

Miss Pickford added it would mean two acres of land could be used as a cemetery for up to 150 years, compared to as little as eight with traditional burials.

But Les Sibley objected to the idea. He said: "We can now use the sardine method.

"We can cram them in and use every available space."

Finding a site for a new cemetery is one of the key issues facing the council. Miss Pickford said several suitable sites had been found but added: "I think we would have more chance going with this alternative."