A GWENT cemetery could close for burials in just three years, council chiefs are warning.

Cefn Golau Cemetery in Tredegar now has fewer than 120 spaces left for burial.

As an average of 39 burials take place there each year, it is expected to be full in 2007.

Now "urgent" action is needed to extend the cemetery if burials are to continue there.

The council is hoping to purchase land next to the cemetery which would mean it could remain open for another decade.

The extra area would provide around 394 more spaces, extending the cemetery's life for around ten years.

Basil Price, a 67-year-old retired teacher living in Bath but originally from Tredegar, said: "It would be a great shame if this cemetery had to close to new burials because it is part of our heritage - my grandfathers and cousins are buried here."

A spokesman for Blaenau Gwent council said: "An area of land has been identified adjoining Cefn Golau Cemetery, which if acquired would extend the projected life of the cemetery by a further ten years.

"Negotiations are taking place with local landowners and the Commoners Association with a view to the council purchasing this land.

"But it would be inappropriate for the council to comment further at this point on the outcome of these negotiations."

Tredegar councillor Stephen Thomas said: "We are doing everything we can to acquire the land."

In a report to the council - aimed at providing a strategy on cemetery provision for the next ten years - the life of Dukestown Cemetery, also in Tredegar, is estimated at 15 years.

However, if Cefn Golau has to close and all burials are transferred to Dukestown, the life of that cemetery would end earlier in 2012. Other cemeteries in Blaenau Gwent also need to be extended.

The 'old' section of Ebbw Vale Cemetery is expected to be exhausted for new burials this year but a large area has been developed following opencast coal operations.

The new section was consecrated in November 2003 and will provide around 2,200 graves, giving another 30 years capacity. Further infill of the site will give another 1,100 graves, extending capacity another 15 years.