Always bound to be sombre occasions, funerals can now be given a personal touch with anything from a Harley hearse to being buried with a betting slip.

PLANNING a funeral may sound like a morbid affair but a Swindon funeral director is trying to make the experience easier to deal with.

The Co-op Funeral Service, in Cricklade Road, has just unveiled its revamped offices, which welcome visitors with warm colours and soft furnishings.

Far from dark and drab, the two yellow arranging rooms provide the perfect setting to plan a celebration of life.

Branch manager Bron Betteridge, 47, thinks the bright environment will encourage people to be more relaxed and open about their lost loved ones.

She said: "We aim to put people at ease. The light rooms are so much more life-affirming than a dull office. Our premises used to be a family home and that's what we have tried to re-create."

Personalising the service as much as possible, customers can choose anything from the music played to what the deceased wears, including jewellery and make-up.

And different modes of transport are now on offer to send loved ones off in style including a Harley Davidson, and sidecar, adapted to fit a coffin, and a traditional horse and carriage.

Bron said: "So far we have had four horse and carriage funerals. The Harley hasn't been booked yet, but I'm sure that will soon change."

These days talking about death is less of a social taboo. The TV docu-soap Don't Drop The Coffin and comedy series Six Feet Under both bear testimony to this cultural change.

The Co-op branch arranges about 800 funerals a year most of which will use the standard Ford Cardinal funeral hearse. The route taken by the hearse and limousines carrying family members of the deceased often has a special significance.

Bron said: "They will often pass the home of the deceased or pass their favourite pub. We have even planned routes to follow where they walked the dog."

August is one of the busiest times of year for funeral directors, along with January.

Bron said: "Old people are more vulnerable to the heat of summer. And I think everyone tries to keep going for Christmas, which may explain why things are hectic when it is over."

Funerals can be expensive, so it is possible to pay in advance with a pre-payment plan. This saves on inflation and means the funeral runs according to the wishes of the deceased.

She said: "A typical funeral costs around £1,700. There is no maximum price, the sky is the limit."

There are five chapels of rest, where the bereaved can visit the deceased before their funeral. To preserve their living appearance the bodies are often embalmed.

She said: "Sometimes people come back every day to sit and talk to them before the funeral. It helps the grieving process."

In the preparation room the deceased are dressed in gowns or their own clothes.

Bron said: "It is very rewarding making them look good and the families are so pleased. They can wear anything from their favourite football strip to their wedding outfit. Sometimes the dress can be very informal just shorts and a T-shirt."

Customers can also choose from a wide range of coffins and gravestones, if the deceased is being buried. A basic veneer coffin costs £340 but precious metal, quilt-lined American caskets can cost up to £30,000.

The decision whether to have a religious or humanist service must also be made.

Bron added: "There are all sorts of optional extras, like special prayer cards with pictures of the deceased, balloons and candles. You can even hire doves to be released for the occasion."

As for her job, Bron loves it and has got used to people saying: "Mournings only," when she tells them what she does for a living.

She said: "I've stopped caring what people think. The work may sound depressing but I find it really fulfilling."