A PERMANENT reminder of the horrors of the holocaust was unveiled at an emotional ceremony in Grays this week.

More than a hundred people gathered at the High View Memorial Gardens on Monday morning to mark International Holocaust Day.

Until this year, the day was marked with the traditional laying of stones which were then removed after the ceremony.

Following a trip Auschwitz, youngsters from the borough managed to raise £600 towards creating the permanent memorial which was provided by East Tilbury company Madstone Ltd.

Town Mayor, Councillor Tony Fish, spoke at the event. He said: “It is incumbent upon each and every one of us who is just one step removed from the Holocaust to make sure younger people today know – and more importantly understand – what happened.”

Speaking after the event, Moe Darr, from Madstone Ltd, said: “The use of pebbles is very significant to the Jewish community and between us we decided to have the hand-selected pebbles engraved, each year a new pebble will be engraved and set into the memorial.”