Crawley memorial could be created to honour those lost during pandemic

Peter Lamb, leader of the borough council, mentioned the idea during his weekly online Q&A.

He said: “I’ve had the update that we’ve apparently had 75 deaths in Crawley so far, the majority of those hostel based and a number in care homes.

“That figure has continued to rise despite a general reduction in the number of cases.

“We need to think at the end of all this about some sort of memorial to those who’ve been lost in the pandemic, much as there was back in the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic.”

Figures from the Office of National Statistics show that, from March to May, 73 people in Crawley died after contracting the virus, as well as 13 in Copthorne and Turners Hill and seven in Crawley Down.

In East Grinstead, the death toll stands at 43, while 58 have died in the Horsham area.

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.