VICTIMS of one of the worst genocides of recent times were commemorated in a memorial service in Chesham.

Remembering Srebrenica Memorial Week, reflecting on the 1995 atrocity that killed 8,000 during the war in Bosnia, was marked in Chesham at a service at the Town Hall.

The day of events was the brainchild of town councillor Rabia Bhatti, who was part of a delegation that went to Bosnia in December to speak to survivors of the atrocity.

She said: "It was heartbreaking to see how people were still trying to find peace and closure and as a young women to see the pain of other women desperately trying to seek justice for the crimes against humanity that took the lives of their sons, husbands, brothers and fathers and led to an estimated 50,000 rapes.

"It was really important for me to come back and do something in Chesham and to make it a Bucks-wide initiative to remember the thousands of innocent people who had lost their lives in the largest mass murder in Europe since World War Two."

Religious leaders from around the area attended the event, as did the mayors of Chesham, Amersham and High Wycombe.

Cllr Bhatti said: "I'm beyond delighted by the support of the community who helped make the memorial day possible and by the absolutely fantastic turnout of people who came from not only all over Buckinghamshire but Slough, Watford and London among other areas."