A memorial event is set to provide comfort to families families affected by the loss of a baby or child.

The Shared Memories event will take place at the Listening for Life Centre, at Bradford Royal Infirmary, on Saturday, November 30, at 11am.

The event aims to create a quiet space to remember and reflect, and is open to everyone, regardless of beliefs or worldview.

The event will be centred around a children's story that deals with death and bereavement, with this year's chosen book being Badger’s Parting Gifts by Susan Varley.

There will also be music and poems.

Reverend Stephen Lees, Church of England SPaRC (Spiritual, Pastoral and Religious Care) Practitioner at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We know that the journey of grief can be slow and painful, and that the experience of loss can be wide – from early miscarriage to the death of a baby or a child.

"But it can be helpful and supportive to gather and to remember with others, who have shared a similar heartache."

The event will be run by colleagues from the Trust’s Maternity, Paediatrics, and SPaRC teams.

People are encouraged to bring along any photographs or mementos of their child to be placed on a special memory table.

According to a spokesperson for the Shared Memories event, parents who have attended previous events have commented on how helpful and caring it has been to see the familiar faces of staff who cared for them and their children.

One parent is quoted as having said: "Having this time and the opportunity to be with other parents who have been through the same was really important."

Another said: "We did not know what to expect but this was excellent; very touching, very caring, very special, very thoughtful."

The event gives parents and the wider family the chance to share feelings and grieve together as they remember their babies and children, in a supportive environment.

Families who have lost children or babies at the Trust’s hospitals in the past 24 months have been sent invitations to attend but anyone else who thinks they would benefit from the occasion is welcome to attend.

The event will last around 45 minutes, plus time for refreshments.

For further details, please contact the SPaRC team on 01274 365819 or SPaRCteam@bthft.nhs.uk.

The Listening for Life Centre is situated off Smith Lane, Bradford, BD9 5HU.