A TEN-YEAR-OLD’s artwork is to be featured on a Covid-19 memorial stone.

Westerleigh Group, owner and operator of cemeteries and crematoria, announced last year it would create Covid-19 memories gardens at most of its sites in England, Scotland and Wales.

And so they issued an open invitation for people to submit ideas.

The winning design would then be etched onto a stone obelisk which will be the centre-piece if each garden.

Jake Insall, from Chilton Polden, won the competition with his drawing of clasping hands and a rainbow.

He said he felt “proud” to be chosen as the winner.

“I wanted to enter the Memorial Design Competition because I knew that it would be a good place for people to go to if they have lost either their family or friends because of the pandemic,” he said.

“I wanted to make a positive contribution to the community

“My design has a rainbow, clouds at the end of the rainbow, and two hands reaching through and over the rainbow, holding hands.

“I chose a rainbow because it has been used a lot during Covid to represent hope.

“The hand that comes through the rainbow represents a person who has been lost and the hand that is coming over the rainbow is a person who is still alive.

“Holding hands, they are still connected and in some way still together.”

Jake’s parents said they felt “very emotional” about the meaning behind Jake’s drawing.

“We hope people who have lost those they love gain comfort from visiting the gardens and seeing the memorial,” they added.

Jake’s design will be etched onto the black polished granite stone monuments which will be placed in the memorial gardens at Westerleigh Group’s crematoria at Westerleigh, Treswithian Downs, Sedgemoor and Forest of Dean.

Westerleigh Group hopes to install the Covid-19 memorials at all its sites during June, ready to open for the public to visit in July.

Roger Mclaughlan, chief executive officer of Westerlaigh Group, added: “We would like the memorial gardens to provide permanent, tranquil places for people to visit to remember loved ones who lost their lives during the pandemic.

“We also want people to remember and reflect on those who have sacrificed so much to help others during the coronavirus crisis.

“We decided early on that we wanted local people to help shape how the gardens would look, so that each of them would become something of real significance to our local communities.

“I would like to congratulate Jake for his winning design and am looking forward to seeing how it looks when the memorial gardens at our crematoria in the South West open later this year.”