A memorial has been built in Barrow to remember the lives of local people who died as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The mosaic was revealed at Barrow Park by Mayor Judith McEwan and her husband Councillor Bill McEwan.

They were also joined by several representatives from the groups who were played a part in bringing the memorial to life.

Councillor McEwan said: "I think it is very important that we never forget the impact Covid had on everyone - we have never experienced anything like it before.

"This memorial is a permanent reminder of all the people who sadly lost their lives.

"It's situated in a lovely part of the park and there are benches there for people to just sit and remember their loved ones."

The memorial is designed to represent the tree of lifeThe memorial is designed to represent the tree of life (Image: Graham Postlethwaite)

The Mayor explained the 'tree of life' at the centre of the installation is designed to show 'how life continues' regardless of what is thrown in our path.

The memorial itself was designed and created by five groups from the local area to symbolise the community coming together in its shared grief.

These were Youth Ability, the Furness Multicultural Forum, Love Barrow Families, and a collaboration between Family Action and Ormsgill Stronger Together.

In Barrow, 343 people died due to the Covid-19 virus, which meant the area had a coronavirus death rate of 514 per 100,000 people – above England's overall death rate of 342 per 100,000 people.

The Rotary Club of Furness also got involved with the memorial, planting a crescent of crab apple trees to overlook the plaque.

Club secretary Graham Postlethwaite said: "Rotary has been working in collaboration with Paul [Littlewood, Woodland Trust representative] for some time planting trees to help save our environment.

"Locally, there was also a council-led group seeking to identify areas which would benefit from tree planting - and this Covid memorial grew out of discussion in that group.

"For those that lost loved ones, the memorial is clearly significant and, for the rest of us, it is perhaps a poignant reminder of a horrible time of lockdown."