A candlelit parade and ceremony, led by the Mayor of Hertsmere, took place to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.

Cllr Brenda Batten led the event in Bushey on Thursday, which began at the former Bushey Country Club site and ended at The Bushey Arena.

Participants heard speeches and watched videos, while there were also musical performances held to remember the millions of people who suffered during the Holocaust, Nazi persecution and later genocides in Rwanda, Cambodia, Bosnia and Darfur.

Joining the mayor were Hertsmere MP Oliver Dowden and a number of Hertsmere borough councillors and officers, local dignitaries and residents. Hertsmere Volunteer Police Cadets were once again on hand to support the parade along with the Explorer Scouts.

A two minute silence was followed by candle lighting and performances from The Radlett Reform Synagogue Choir and Riley Levene.

Cllr Batten said: “The ceremony was very moving and poignant and reminds us of why it is so important to remember those who have suffered at the hands of genocidal regimes.

“Learning the lessons of the past will ensure that we continue to tackle the discrimination, racism and hatred that has been the root cause of these previous events.”

Holocaust Memorial Day is held every year on January 27, today, as this is the anniversary of the day in 1945 when the Soviet Army liberated the largest Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau.