Leeds: Dinner table without guests to highlight grief loneliness

The 14-seater table was set in the Victoria Leeds shopping centre in the city centre

An empty dinner table has gone on display in Leeds to launch a campaign highlighting loneliness at mealtimes after the death of a loved one.

Bereavement charity Sue Ryder placed the 14-seater table in the Victoria Leeds shopping centre.

It was set for dinner, but without guests, to highlight the empty spaces left by people who have died.

Sue Ryder said new research suggested half of grieving people skipped mealtimes to avoid eating alone.

The research also found three fifths of bereaved people said that being invited over for dinner had helped with their grief.

Each empty seat at the table represented a real person with items placed at the table to show what they loved and what made them unique, the charity said.

A card for each empty chair includes a photograph and a quote from a family member about their loved one

Items on the table include a jar of lemon curd, a Reading football scarf, a Meat Loaf album and a leopard print scarf.

Instead of menus, cards show a photograph and a quote from a family member about their loved one.

The charity said it wanted to encourage people to be "grief kind" by offering bereaved people a seat at the table, "so that no one has to go through grief alone".

The empty table would remain in place until Wednesday evening, a spokesperson for Sue Ryder said.