Cardboard Coffins

OK... which would you prefer? Sombre mahogany or oak, with solid brass fittings and a deep velvet lining... or a cardboard box? Yes, welcome to the world of the flat-pack coffin, printed with greetings card images that will have funeral congregations rolling in the aisles. "Rest in peas" says one especially appropriate coffin (top left), which will help the mourning process no end.

Creative Coffins, the maker of these beauties, seems to have started with the good idea that people want a "green alternative" to traditional wooden coffins. Theirs are made of non-toxic cartonboard and "use only natural starch based glues in assembly – no bolts, screws, tape or other fixings." But then they had the brilliant idea of covering them with huge images which suggest your recently lost loved one is inside a box of chocs, a bottle of vodka, a snooker table, or even a fruit machine. Genius!

Choose your novelty coffin here! Guaranteed to turn tragedy into farce. Prices available on request.