DEATH and cake were the unlikely combination at the University of Bradford yesterday as people were encouraged to take a more relaxed approach to talking about the end of their lives.

Health care students and professionals held a death cafe in the university atrium to mark "dying matters awareness" week.

Death cafes offer a relaxed atmosphere where people can talk about issues that are often treated as taboo, such as planning for death and bereavement. People share tea and cake as they talk about serious issues, but organisers say the goal is to make sure it is not a morbid atmosphere.

And tomorrow there will be a similar event held at the Marie Curie Hospice in Bradford - the first time a death cafe has been held in a hospice.

Over the course of the day there was a steady stream of people who sat down with those running the cafe to have an informal chat about dying.

Joanne Mullarkey, a research nurse at the university Ethical Tissue bank, helped organise the event, and said: "The cafes are a safe place to drop in, have a chat and eat cake and just talk with people about death in a friendly atmosphere.

"It is not depressing in any way. It is not tied to any religion or faith, it is for everyone.

"The cafe at the university went really well."

The hospice death cafe runs from 10am to 4pm. It is free to attend, but people are advised to book a place by visiting brad.ac.uk/health/lets-talk-death/