Friends applaud, the comedy is finished," the last words of composer Ludwig van Beethoven.

But even in death it's now possible for the recently deceased to have the last laugh.

Most people might not want to think about when they might eventually shuffle off, but one company based in Nottingham and the Isle of Wight is making the idea a little more fun.

Vic Fearn & Company has a macabre range of Crazy Coffins, so if you don't fancy being carried away in the traditional wooden box they have the answer.

The range includes coffins in the shape of a skateboard, a yacht, a Rolls Royce, a giant egg, a guitar and even a skip.

"We're currently making a coach for a fan of the Orient Express who wishes to pay now and die later. He'll be cremated in his coach," explains David Crampton, director of Vic Fearn & Co.

Although the crazy coffins are only a small part of the business, the demand for the unusually shaped coffins has increased.

"Times have changed and people are well aware of that eventual day.

"The advent of pre-paid funeral plans means you can make your plans at a very early stage and pay for your funeral. Then at that fateful moment your plan is put into operation," he said.

"Everything's changing at funeral homes and it's not just the coffins. The music, modes of transport, modes of dress for funerals, as people like to wear their own clothes when they die today."

In the bizarre world of crazy coffin-making getting buried has never been so much fun.

The creative caskets have proved so popular that they even get invited to special coffin exhibitions around European art galleries.

Other unlikely sources of interest have come from several celebrity special requests.

"We made Harry Secombe's coffin and one for Paula Yates, although they weren't necessarily unusual coffins.

"We did make a guitar coffin for a pop star a couple of years ago, but we never knew or were told what his name was. It was a gold Fender Strat guitar," Mr Crampton said.

You wonder if there's anything the funeral company couldn't build or bury you in?

"There's nothing we wouldn't make, if we have the time, the inclination and the will. The most challenging was a 1913 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost!"