Two Bradford University graduates have created an alternative to traditional greetings cards.

James Crawford, 27, of Shipley, and Paul Downey, 30, of Halifax, have combined their skills and experience to launch LiquidHill.com, an animated e-card website.

It enables subscribers to send high-quality greetings electronically which they say is less wasteful and greener than traditional cards.

The two men met while students at the university where Paul gained a degree in computer science and James graduated in media studies.

Both pursued separate careers before deciding to get together and use their talents to exploit the growing demand for electronic greetings.

James said: “When we set out on this we had a number of statistics in mind, including the fact than an estimated one billion Christmas cards ended up in bins across the UK last year.

“We set out to make high-quality 3D animated cards that would help reduce our carbon footprint and give our customers excellent value for money.”

He said extensive effort had gone into the design of the site so that members could use it easily and choose from an expanding range.

Paul said: “Our scheduled delivery system was made for people with busy working lives who might struggle to otherwise find time to send out greetings cards.

“The scheduling feature allows the user to select any date for an e-card delivery up to 12 months in advance. So theoretically you could send out all your e-cards in one visit to the site.”