Relatives of loved ones lost in Chirk gathered to remember them at a special Tree of Light ceremony at the town’s community hospital last weekend.

The annual event marks the names of those who have passed away, whether recently or long ago, and are still remembered by family and friends.

It is organised by Chirk Hospital Circle of Friends with more than 100 people present o hear member Julie Fawcett solemnly read out the names of loved ones.

Julie believes the day is vital for those who have suffered recent loss and brings great comfort for people in what is a growing event.

“The day has been wonderful – there’s been a lot of hard work that has gone on behind the scenes,” she said.

“The day has grown year-upon-year and proves to be a great comfort for people in Chirk and around. People’s loved ones never go away and it shows on a day like this. We start the preparations back in September. I leave the forms around the town for people to fill in and each year we see the same names. That’s never going to change. One of these years I will count how many people there are on the list which is growing all the time but the names are never going to change. It’s been very hard for us this year as we lost two of our Circle of Friends members, plus the death of Councillor Ian Roberts recently.

She added: “We are celebrating our 50th anniversary in 2019 and will be doing a series of events, including with Sybil Jones/James, our chairman, who was a founding member of the Circle of Friends.”