Bereaved parents shed tears today at an emotional candlelight service held in memory of their lost loved ones.

About 60 relatives, many still coming to terms with personal tragedies, listened as hymns and poems were read out in the service at Bradford Cathedral.

They then wrote personal tributes on memorial cards and hung them on Christmas trees, before lighting candles in remembrance of the children they had lost.

The service was led by Reverend Ralph Rowe, vicar of St Chad's in Toller Lane, Bradford. It is the 12th year the Bradford Bereaved Parents Group has organised such a service at the Cathedral.

Rosalie Harris, a founder member of the group, said: "Bereaved parents want to speak to people who have been through the same experiences as they have - they offer a shoulder to cry on.

"This allows people to remember and talk to people who have suffered the same tragic circumstances."

One parent, Elaine Robinson, 51, lost her son, Lee Sharp, to cot death in 1976 when he was just 11 months old. She is now a volunteer for the group and offers support to other grieving relatives. Mrs Robinson lived in Westminster Terrace, Undercliffe, Bradford, before moving to Northumberland last year. The mother-of-three said: "I don't think you ever get over losing a child.

"Thankfully, when I lost Lee, I had the wonderful support of doctors, health visitors and my family, but there were no support groups.

"After I lost Lee I went on to have three other children and, when the youngest was born, a friend of mine who had joined the group invited me to help. It feels wonderful that I can help, because it means that Lee didn't die in vain.

"Talking to others in the same situation is always emotional, but I think it helps people understand there are others going through the same pain and there are people out there who will help."

Visitors to the Cathedral listened to Bradford coroner Roger Whittaker read verses from the Bible, and Canon Gordon Dey, vicar of Holme Wood and Tong, played the guitar to a song he had penned, entitled Where Is Our God?

A second song, There Is A Place, was written for the parents of 16 children who were killed by a gunman at a school in Dunblane, Scotland, 11 years ago.

Geoff Kenure, who has helped organise the service for more than a decade, said Christmas was a poignant time for bereaved parents.

He said: "It is a time for thinking about families, and everything at Christmas is related to the birth of the Christ child.

Although there is celebration on one level, we should not forget that, for some people, there is another level of personal grief and feelings about losing a child."

The group was set up by Dr Norma Towler, a former community health doctor, and retired Provost of Bradford, Brandon Jackson, with help from others.

Since it started 14 years ago, it has been instrumental in organising children's graves at council-run cemeteries in Nab Wood, Keighley and Scholemoor.

For further information about the work of Bradford Bereaved Parents Group, contact Rosalie Harris on (01274) 322060, (01274) 735155 or 07931 558224.