The family of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s slain opposition leader, has been told that no hearse driver is willing to take his body to the morgue, the day before he is due to be buried.

Mr Navalny’s spokeswoman said on Thursday that, less than 24 hours before the burial, funeral homes all refused to work with the Navalny family after receiving threatening phonecalls.

“Funeral homes are telling us that not a single hearse has agreed to take the body [to the church],” Kira Yarmysh said in a statement.

“All hearse drivers are getting anonymous calls threatening them not to take Alexei’s body anywhere.”

Russia’s most popular opposition leader died in prison under murky circumstances in February.

Prison authorities and investigators refused to release the body for more than nine days and tried to pressure the family into a secret burial. Thousands of Russians have been bringing flowers to makeshift memorials across the country.

Mr Navalny’s mother finally received the body of her 47-year-old son last Saturday.

A close ally of the politician said arrangements had been already made when the family got a call from their chosen funeral home earlier on Thursday, saying that its drivers are refusing to take the body.

“We started looking for other options – soon it became clear that all [drivers] had been called up and told not to do it,” said Leonid Volkov. “This is sheer madness.”

No funeral venue in Moscow has agreed to host a farewell ceremony, forcing the family to opt for a church in Mr Navalny’s neighbourhood, where his body will be prepared for burial according to Orthodox Christian tradition.

Mr Navalny’s allies invited Russians to come to the church on Thursday afternoon and two hours later, to a cemetery in an adjacent neighbourhood.

His supporters have also been invited to lay flowers at the monuments to victims of Soviet-era political repressions in cities across Russia.

Heightened security measures were reported on Thursday around Moscow’s Borisovskoye cemetery and metal barriers were spotted outside two metro stations nearby.