A poignant remembrance service for people who have experienced the death of a baby or a young child is being organised by a Mid Essex Essex hospital.

The Christmas service of remembrance at Broomfield Hospital is for anyone who, at any point in their life, has sadly been affected by such a loss and will help those attending remember and reflect.

The memorial event will be held in the hospital's relaxing and welcoming Baby Bereavement Garden on Monday 16 December at 6pm, with attendees meeting at 5.45pm in the hospital's atrium if directions are needed.

Organised by the Bereavement suite service and supported by the hospital chaplains, those attending are invited to bring a small tree decoration which they can add to a Christmas tree. Ashleigh Williams, a professional singer who herself has experienced the loss of a baby, will lead carols at the moving ceremony.

Sophie Wort, Bereavement Midwife, said: "For those who have lost a baby or a child our Christmas service offers families an opportunity to come together and to remember the life of their little one, no matter how brief or short that was."

The thoughtfully designed garden, funded by Mid and South Essex Hospitals Charity, opened two years ago during Baby Loss Awareness Week, and is a quiet location where families impacted by baby loss can take their baby, away from the ward, to make lasting memories.

Benches and a butterfly screen offer individual areas for people to use, and the location in the woods features bluebells and incorporates the woods into the garden, giving the impression that the garden continues on and on, like the never-ending love parents have for their babies.