A SPECIAL vigil was held at the War Memorial in Slough High Street on Tuesday evening as residents of all ages gathered to pay their respects to the victims of the Manchester bombing.

Civic and faith leaders led the event from 7pm as 22 white roses, from youth charity, Aik Saath were handed out to young people in the 80-strong crowd.

As a symbol of the 22 lives that were lost on Monday night at the Manchester Arena, the youngsters were encouraged to lay their rose at the memorial itself or to share it with a stranger.

Poignant speeches were delivered by Cllr Sabia Hussain, deputy leader of the council, Sohail Munawar, leader of the council and the handful of faith leaders who attended.

Muslim girls from Whitby Road's Eden School also read a number of poems to express unity and sympathy with the victims, alongside other youngsters.

Cllr Hussain, 36, of Chalvey told the Observer afterwards: "It was about expressing commonality and expressing outrage for the callous attack on young people.

"Slough as a town was not directly affected by the bomb but it could have been anyone's children or family."

She added: "We had some people in tears who came with young children.

"The sentiment was shared with the people there and the people who did this are the common enemy. It is important we get the message out that this is not specific to any religion."

The vigil was open to all and Cllr Hussain later said that one of her own children had wanted to go to the concert where the terrorist, Salman Abedi, struck. Although it had clashed with a school trip, other relatives of hers attended the concert that night in Manchester and were fortunately unharmed.

She said: "The terror threat is now critical and there are people among us who want to hurt us. We have to be aware and people have to talk to each other in each community."

At the end of the vigil, the crowd was encouraged to greet a person they had never met before, whether a handshake or a hug, and to have a chat.

A multi-faith gathering for peace, hosted by the Mustaqbill Future Foundation, will take place on Sunday from 1pm in Town Square, and all are welcome.