West Suffolk Sands Memorial at Nowton Park, in Bury St Edmunds, will give comfort and support to bereaved families

A charity that supports bereaved families after the loss of a baby has unveiled a memorial at Nowton Park in Bury St Edmunds.

West Suffolk Sands raised funds for the wooden statue of a baby being held and a memorial bench.

After the unveiling on Saturday, Jacqui Armstrong, Befriender and committee member for the charity, said: “Seeing the statue unveiled in place at Nowton was an incredible moment, I felt so emotional and proud.”

“Helping to provide something beautiful to honour all our babies and a place for bereaved parents to go to remember and reflect in peaceful surroundings is an amazing achievement for our group.

“We all work together to give comfort and support in memory of our babies Jacob, Dominic, William and Andrew, Evee, Olivia and Andrew Beau.”

Isobel Ewing, also a Befriender and committee member, said: “I feel the baby memorial will give all bereaved parents somewhere outdoors to think and to know there are other parents who understand how they are feeling.

“Not all parents have a grave they can visit, or maybe have one which is too far away to visit regularly, so this is an ideal place to go.”

Part of the money donated for the memorial and bench was donated from Cllr Sarah Stamp and Cllr Patrick Chung's locality budget in 2021.

Any families looking for support from the West Suffolk Sands should email: westsuffolk@sandsvolunteer.org.uk.