A SELECTION of eye-catching funeral merchandise will be put on display in Bournemouth next month as part of the world’s first Six Feet Under convention.

The event, to be held between August 12 and 14, celebrates the cult TV series set around a family-owned funeral business in California.

The show Six Feet Under was created and produced by Alan Ball, who also wrote the film American Beauty and vampire series True Blood.

Originally screened between 2001 and 2005, episodes are now being repeated on Sky Atlantic.

To coincide with the Bournemouth convention, a selection of Crazy Caskets – coffins commissioned by people who want to be laid to rest in something unconventional – will be on show in Bournemouth Library from Monday August 8.

And an open-air exhibition of coffins created by using traditional materials and crafts will be in the Triangle the following Saturday and Sunday.

There will also be unusual hearses, balloons and a release of doves – and the chance to pose for a photograph in a coffin.

Organiser Brian Jenner said: “We break down the taboo of bereavement.

There are loads of issues around death that people rarely discuss, like how you would like to be buried, whether you need to be embalmed, or how you organise a funeral service.

“When you get over the discomfort of the subject matter, there’s really lots to make you smile. What else can you do?”

Speakers at the event include an embalmer from Salisbury, former Daily Telegraph obituaries editor Andrew McKie, a soul midwife, the author of the Good Funeral Guide and experts in green funerals.

Visit sixfeetunderconvention.co.uk or contact Rosie Inman-Cook on 01962 712690 dor details.