Bergen - Church authorities in Bergen, Norway's second-largest city, have hit upon a unique scheme to earn a little extra cash - selling second-hand gravestones.

A report on NRK radio said on Monday that the local church council came up with the scheme in order to make "a little bit of money" and to free up space in Solheim and Mllendal cemeteries.

The used gravestones are "reasonably cheap", said the report.

Church officials have brushed off protests from concerned citizens, saying that the idea solves an environmental problem and the money earned will contribute to the upkeep of the cemeteries.

Only headstones which were erected more than 25 years ago and are no longer tended by relatives of the dead will be sold, said the report. - Sapa-dpa