A MEMORIAL garden will be created on Canvey seafront to honour those who lost their lives to Covid-19. 

Some ideas for tributes include flower beds, benches, or a statue and plaque with Canvey Town Council giving the concept the green light on Monday. 

The idea - set to be featured at the bottom of Labworth Memorial Gardens - has been backed by Dean Murphy, whose mother-in-law Tracy Webster lost her fight with Covid in January.

The 58-year-old, from Canvey, who had no underlying health conditions, was first admitted to the hospital on New Years Eve after her oxygen levels dropped below normal.

Tracy spent more than two weeks in intensive care before her passing.

Dean, 38, said: “I think having something to remember them by would be a really good thing. A plaque would be fantastic, although I think benches tend to get a bit tardy over time.

“A lot of people don’t tend to like to visit gravestones where it is quite emotional, so this is a way people can instead go and still remember their loved ones. We’re giving this our full support.”

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Another Canvey resident, Neil Ruch, worked for the East of England Ambulance Service and died in May after contracting Covid-19.

And Mr Blackwell, who will help oversee the project, says he has too watched the virus claim the lives of his loved ones.

He said: “You don’t realise the amount of people who have sadly passed away. People you’ve known for years and are used to seeing, you hear have just passed from Covid.

“A dear friend of mine, David Cain who was 71, fought Leukaemia for many years before he caught Covid and passed away. It is very sad.

“So we thought this would be a fitting tribute to all of them. When it’s time we’ll have an official opening and invite anyone whose lost someone to come down there.”

Town Mayor Alan Acott added: “We all agreed at a meeting on Monday we want to do something. Precisely what we haven’t decided yet, but the town clerk is now making enquiries about the suggestions we’ve come up with. 

“We don’t know how many people on Canvey have died from Covid, but it’s estimated about 100. We’d like to do one plaque to remember them altogether.”