A NEWLY opened family-run funeral firm has placed itself firmly at the heart of the community after a successful first month in business.

Mead Family Funerals, run by dedicated husband and wife team Jeremy and Karen Mead, officially opened their St John Road office in Wroughton earlier this month, to much fanfare.

The pair took over the Wroughton office from previous owners G&L Evans, based in Highworth, in the New Year.

Karen, 51, said: “We were absolutely humbled by the village coming out to support us. We might be under a different name, but people know it’s still us and they are happy to lend us their support.”

G&L Evans opened in Wroughton in 2009 and Jeremy was the office manager from 2010 until December 2016. In 2015 he and Karen both became directors at the firm.

But since the sale, it’s Jeremy and Karen’s name that hangs above the door, and they couldn’t be happier.

Jeremy, 61, who has lived in the village for about 30 years, said: “We have been serving the village since 2009 and now we can continue to serve it as a family. That’s what we are all about – helping families. We know so many people and it’s good to be able to look after them at one of the lowest times in their lives.”

The couple, who got married in September 2015, still keep a close working relationship with G&L. “They are our biggest supporters,” said Jeremy. “We still work together whenever we can.”

Jeremy holds one of the highest funeral directors’ qualifications in the world – the diploma in funeral services, and in March Karen will sit her exams and hopefully come away with the same prestigious diploma.

The exams involve a deep knowledge of all the rules and regulations surrounding the organising of a funeral and how best to accommodate people’s wishes.

“It’s the best profession in the world,” said a proud Jeremy.

They are certainly thought of fondly by the locals. One passer-by stopped and shouted: “They’re the two best things since sliced bread, these two.”