Dozens of grieving parents from across West Yorkshire will converge on a Burley-in-Wharfedale church on Saturday to lay flowers in memory of their lost children.

The Compassionate Friends, an organisation working with people suffering from bereavement, is to hold a special service at St Mary's Parish Church for families whose lives have been torn apart by the death of a child.

Called a 'service of remembering and sharing', the event will include poems and hymns and is designed to bring grieving parents together to show them that they are not alone in their suffering.

More than 70 people from across the county attended a similar even last year and organisers say attendance will be just as big on Saturday.

Spokesman for the organisation, Francis Clarke, said: "The service is open to all parents who have lost a child, whether its through an accident, suicide, murder or through illness.

"It doesn't matter what age the child was either when they died. The main point of the service is to get the message across to parents that they are not alone and to bring them in contact with other people who are going through the same pain as they are."

The organisation - the only one of its kind on West Yorkshire - has now been running the service for three years.

Mrs Clarke said; "From the response we've had from parents in the past, we know that the service can be a terrific elp gives hope to people who are despairing.

"Grieving for a child is a long, painful process and for parents to meet people who have survived the trauma who are planning to live and laugh again, gives them huge hope for the future."

The group exists as a support for bereaved parents across the district, offering help and advice, holding meetings and putting people in contact with others who have been bereaved.

"The group is there to help anyone who has lost a child, whether they are parents or just friends. We're there to help people readjust to the world and to help them find a focus for living again," she said.

The vicar of St Mary's Parish Church, the Rev Peter Sutcliffe, said: "Burley falls pretty much in the middle of the Compassionate Friends 'area.'

The convenor of the group rang me up to ask if they could hold the service here. It is an organisation which I have a great deal of respect for and I was happy to have the service here in the village."

l Anyone who would like to contact the group, which meets in Leeds, should telephone (0117) 9539639. All are welcome at the service this Saturday which takes place at St Mary's Church at 2pm.

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