MORE than 50 parents and grandparents who have experienced the devastating loss of a baby came together for a special memorial service at a Worcester church.

The remembrance service included moving poems and the opportunity to light a candle in tribute to a loved one.

Staff from the Cedar Tree, a Worcester-based charity, which offers free and confidential support for those who have experienced pregnancy loss attended the event.

After the service, parents could visit in private and place the name of their baby on a leaf and tie it to a branch on a memory tree.

The service was put on by Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and led by chaplain Worcester Royal Hospital chaplaincy team leader Dr Rev David Southall.

Rev Southall said: "It was immensely moving to see people of all ages come and remember. We hoped to create a safe space for people to honour their little ones. There were entire families represented including mums and dads, children and grandparents."

Ashlea Gormley, one of the Trust’s Bereavement Support Midwife said: "The service was an important event for many families and gave an opportunity to remember their babies. I found it particularly moving to see the many candles which were lit for the babies of those who attended."

The baby memorial event is a service, which takes place annually during Baby Loss Awareness Week, and is open to people of all faiths and none.

It seeks to provide a healing space where people can remember the babies they have lost.

The service took place at St Peter's Baptist Church, in Eden Close, on Saturday, October 14.