Lincolnshire Road Victims Memorial service at Westgate Woods, Wyberton, offers a 'place for remembering, reflecting and praying'

A special service to remember people who have lost their lives on Lincolnshire's roads has taken place at a permanent memorial to them in the county.

Families came to the Lincolnshire Road Victims Memorial Garden at Westgate Woods, Wyberton, for a service held underneath a new shelter at the memorial on Saturday.

The service was led by Jean Smith, a reader in the Church of England, and included an address by the Bishop of Grantham, the Right Reverend Nicholas Chamberlain who is a patron of the memorial.

Mr Chamberlain said: "We've come here with a common purpose, to remember those who have been killed on our roads and those who have been injured or mind.

"People matter to us a great deal and it's the people who we love that help to make us human.

"Places matter as well, places for remembering, places for reflecting and places for praying.

"I hope this memorial will become a place where we can find memories of the people who we love, where lives can be celebrated and where reflection can happen."

It was the first service at the memorial since it was officially opened by Lady Sarah McCorquodale, sister of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, in April.

A two-year effort to raise £45,000 for the memorial was led by Anne Bourne whose daughter and niece died after a crash in 2004.

Anne said: "I was very, very pleased with how the service went and, considering the circumstances with the cold weather, I was more than happy with the amount of people who turned up.

"I thought about whether it was the right thing to do when I saw one or two people in tears on Saturday.

"I don't think there's a word in the English language to describe how a mother feels when they lose a child.

"But by the end of the service, when the families had been served a hot drink, they felt better."

The memorial site itself was provided by Boston Woods Trust and has been paid for by a series of fundraising events organised by a committee which includes Anne and her husband Geoff, Amanda Meeds, Anne's daughter who was seriously injured in the 2004 crash and friends of the family.

Anne said: "I consider myself extremely lucky to have chosen the people I did because they've pulled out all the stops for the memorial.

"In the new year, we're going to look at planting some seeds, putting a wrought iron fence around the memorial and the footpath up to the shelter still has to be finished as well.

"I also want to go out to other towns and villages around Lincolnshire a bit more because a lot of the money we've had for the memorial has come from Boston and South Holland.

"You have to stop and think what it's all about while, at the same time, people can't imagine what it's like getting a phone call in the middle of the night telling you to rush to the hospital."