PEOPLE whose loved ones went missing in conflicts have been remembered in Worcester.

British Red Cross staff and volunteers planted forget-me-not seeds at a ceremony at their Wainwright Road centre to remember those who have disappeared.

The flowers were planted on Friday to keep the memories of lost loved ones alive as a way to mark the International Day of the Disappeared today.

The day is a United Nations recognised annual day of commemoration for people missing in armed conflicts or through situations of violence. Red Cross workers were joined at the ceremony by people who had been helped by their international tracing and messaging service (ITMS).

The service tries to trace the relatives of families who have been separated by conflicts across the world and has recently helped four people from Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire restore their family links.

The service works by allowing people to give messages to Red Cross workers in their home country who then liaise with their counterparts abroad.

The messages are then passed through the Red Cross and, if they want to, the family members can arrange to make direct contact.

Many of the people who use the service are families trying to find out the fate of a loved one during the Second World War. Tim Garner, an intern with the international tracing and message services at the Red Cross in Worcester, said: “This is an opportunity for the people of Worcestershire to show their concern and support for the families of the missing, while also celebrating recent successes where family members have been able to contact each other.”

More information is available at redcross.org.uk/trace.