A GERMAN RADIO station is offering the unusual prize of a luxury funeral for the listener who can come up with the most original or witty epitaph for their gravestone.

Radio Galaxy’s competition in Aschaffenburg in northern Bavaria has caused uproar among funeral undertakers, embalmers and grave diggers who are are taking the station to court, according to The Australian.

The local radio station is offering the winner of their competition a €3,000 burial complete with marble headstone, wreath, transport to and from the cemetery, and even a tip for the grave diggers.

The station’s idea came after a young pupil at a local school died.

Presenter Jens Pflueger explained: ”We talked about how to tackle this with our younger listeners. We realised that it was our duty to get people talking about death.”

Having received more than 600 entries from people with their own epitaphs, according to the BBC, the station will announce the winner this Ash Wednesday, normally a sombre day in the religious calender.

The Association of German Undertakers has reacted angrily to the competition.

The organisation said in a statement (in German): “This activity is not just impious and tasteless, it is also immoral as regards the law against unfair competition.”