SCORES of townsfolk braved the rain and cold to pay their respects to the victims of the Holocaust.

Rev Nigel Marns, the vicar of St John's, made a poignant speech in Sanders Park, Bromsgrove, last Thursday to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

The service also officially opened a rosebed laid in remembrance of those who died during the Holocaust.

Rev Marns told the crowd that we should never forget what happened but also remember that such things are still going on throughout the world today in places such as Bosnia and Iraq.

He also mentioned how, on such days, it is easy to see why the actions of Prince Harry, when he wore a Nazi outfit at a fancy-dress party, caused so much anger.

He was joined by Councillor Ted Tibby, the chairman of Bromsgrove District Council, who said: "We honour the memory of all those who have died as a result of human violence. We mourn for all that died in terror. We stand in gratitude for all those whose spiritual resistance remains as an enduring testimony to the power of light over darkness."

The Last Post, played by 17-year-old Ben Carr from Bromsgrove School, followed the readings, along with a two-minute silence.

After the moving service, Cllr Tibby unveiled the plaque at the rosebed, which is near to the bandstand.

Roses of peace were chosen for the flowerbed. They have a distinctive yellow colour with a pink colouring on the tip of the petal.

More than six million people, most of them Jews, died during the Holocaust when the Nazis tried to destroy the Jewish race during World War Two.

Auschwitz, which has become synonymous with the Holocaust, was one of the main Nazi death camps. It was liberated by Soviet soldiers on January 27, 1945, as they drove the Germans out of Poland.