A THURROCK man whose father was a victim of the virus is backing a campaign to remember and honour those who have lost their lives because of Covid-19.

Perry Adams, from Grays, has told how both his mum and dad were stricken by the bug in late March and both were admitted to Basildon & Thurrock Hospital.

His mum Karen recovered but his 56-year-old father Steve, despite a long battle when he was on a ventilator, passed away.

Perry, who works in Stanford-le-Hope, tells how the traumatic events unfolded: "I lost my dad on April 13 after he caught the virus.

"He had become ill in March but despite contacting 111 and even calling 999 at one point, we ended up having to take him to hospital ourselves.

"Taking him to the hospital was the last time I saw him alive!

"After he had been in hospital three days he was put on the ventilator.

"Mum, who was also ill, was taken into hospital at the same time but was later released and made a slow recovery.

"However, dad didn't come through. He was just 56 with no health issues and was a amazing dad and grandad and husband.

"Thankfully, a least mum got five minutes with him at the end before the ventilator was turned off.

"At the funeral we had just 10 members of my family. We were not allowed to to see dad at the chapel of rest and we had to drive ourselves to the funeral. It was awful and it seems he has just passed away without it being noticed."

Amid the grief, Perry came across the Yellow Hearts to Remember movement, which was started online by Becky and Hannah Gompertz and their granddad, David, after their grandma, Sheila, passed away.

They wanted a special way to remember her and others who have died because of coronavirus and to offer people the chance to show that they are grieving, so they don't feel alone.

Becky said:"The original idea for the movement came from my grandad, David. My grandma, his wife, Sheila passed away in April from coronavirus. It has been a really difficult time to be grieving.

"Grandma was in a care home before she died, and my grandad lives alone. Although we see him weekly to drop off food, he is very isolated in his grief.

"He thought that a lot of people would be in a similar situation and this was about reaching out and making sure others didn't feel alone at this very difficult time. Grandad remembered hearing that in past wars families had tied yellow ribbons around trees and door handles in remembrance of the men who had left for war.

"He wanted to do something similar during lockdown so that families who had lost someone during this time, not necessarily from Covid-19, could have a symbol of remembrance and a way of letting other people know that they are grieving.

"When you just hear statistics, like 500 people have died today, it doesn't really mean anything – the yellow heart hopefully makes you take a step back and think this is much bigger than I thought.

"Grandma was more than a statistic."

That is something that Perry resonates hugely with and he and more than 6,000 others now support the movement and are campaigning, for local memorials. In addition, supported by the Marie Curie charity, there is a call for a national day of mourning to recognise those who have been lost.

Sadly, says Perry, the calls appear to be falling on deaf ears in official circles but he believes public will could change that.

He says: "All we want is for our loved ones to be remembered and to understand what the yellow heart symbols mean.

"We clapped for the NHS we clapped for Boris when he said for the virus we have even done a two minute silence for staff of the NHS who sadly passed away but nothing for the 46 thousand people.

"If every town could have some kind of memorial it would be lovely.

"As a group on a Sunday at 8pm we light a candle for our loved ones in a show of lights. So many families are going through what we are. We aren't asking for much."

The yellow Hearts movement is petitioning the government for guidance and assistance in setting up memorials. You can add your voice here.

Marie Curie is also supporting the call for a national tribute and you can support that, here.