Top Gear's Richard Hammond (4 September 2009)

Here's an interesting way to take the final journey - a funeral trike.

I'm not a big fan of trikes but I have a great fear of making my final trip in the old pine suit in the back of a Volvo hearse or something equally dull, so the trike would do me.

Apparently, someone has also built a VW campervan hearse, which sounds like a cool way to go... if there is such a thing.

Motorcycle News / This is Devon (28 April 2007)

Those wanting to cut a dash en route to their final resting place can now do so, thanks to a motortrike hearse service being launched by a Westcountry businesswoman. Mother-of-three Julie Gibbings' glittering 12ft motortrike will hook up and tow a £10,000 custom-made black two-wheeled hearse.

The 44-year-old, whose working outfit is black leathers, black crash helmet and sunglasses, dreamed up the service as part of her Trike-An-Occasion business.

"The bike and hearse will be 24ft long hooked up together, and I will take a funeral director with me as a passenger," she said. "I have spoken to a number of funeral directors about the service and they really like it. People want something different, and it will appeal to bikers.

"I hope other people will like it as well," she added from her home at Withleigh, near Tiverton, Mid Devon. She is planning to officially launch the service at the three-day Paignton Bike Festival, and is awaiting her first funeral booking.

She said she had never ridden a bike before buying the 6ft-wide motortrike on a whim three years ago - and developed a business offering a special mode of transport.

The two-passenger motortrike can be hired for rides to special events, champagne picnics - and even weddings.

Express & Echo (26 April 2007)

Oscar Wilde once said that there were two things that you could be certain of in life: death and taxes.While death remains a certainty, how you get to your final resting place is less so.

People are increasingly choosing to ditch the traditional black hearse and take their final journey in less conventional modes of transport, such as tractors, dustcarts and now a motortrike.

The motortrike hearse is the brainchild of Julie Gibbings, a mother of three from Withleigh, near Tiverton.

Julie set up Trike An Occasion two years ago after she bought a 12ft long, 6ft wide motortrike on a whim. This whim has since developed into a successful business offering chauffeur-driven motortrike rides to picnics, proms and weddings.

But it wasn't until she had a conversation with representatives from Hospice South West that Julie thought about extending the chauffeur service to funerals.

After hearing that many terminally ill people liked to plan their own ceremonies and were often looking for something different to incorporate, Julie decided to look into providing a service that was unique, caring and professional.

After 18 months of planning, the custom-made hearse was delivered and Trike An Occasion is now preparing for its first funeral service. "I wanted to design it along the lines of an old horse-drawn carriage," said Julie, 44.

With parts coming from Germany and Canada, designing and building the hearse, which is pulled along by the motortrike, has been a labour of love for Julie, a former nurse.

"It's taken so long and it has been so complicated to construct. A lot of thought has gone into it and it is very, very smart," she said. "It's a complete one-off."

The reaction from those who have seen the £10,000 hearse has been very positive.

"I drove through Exeter and Tiverton and people were stopping to take photos of it on their mobile phones," said Julie, who has bought a new set of all-black leathers for her forthcoming duties.

The motortrike hearse is designed to appeal, not just to bikers, but to anyone who is looking for something a bit unusual.

"We do weddings and Champagne picnics for people who have never been on a bike in their life," she said. "We think this service will be for those who want something a bit different, whether a biker or not."

Those wanting to find out more about the funeral service offered by Trike An Occasion can visit them at the Paignton Bike Festival on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May, 4, 5 and 6 or visit www.trike-an-occasion.co.uk.