THE victims of a wartime bombing raid, which rocked a small mining community, were finally given official recognition at the weekend.

More than 62 years after the event, a sculpted memorial stone was unveiled bearing the names of the eight people who lost their lives following a German bombing mission over the county.

Three bombs were dropped by the Luftwaffe on the village of Beamish, on Friday, May 1, 1942, at 3am.

One bomb went off on impact in Station Road, damaging houses and shops, while the second, fused with a six-hour delay, exploded at 9.30am on the colliery railway embankment.

A third lay undiscovered after plunging through the roof of a building, the rear quarters of a shop, and becoming buried in the foundations.

It was on an 18-hour time delay and exploded that evening, destroying surrounding houses and killing eight people. It left seven others seriously wounded and a further 28 casualties.

The dead included three children, Sylvia Spence, ten, eight-year-old Irene Seymour and Clive Lawson, the nine-year-old adopted son of local MP Jack Lawson, who later became Labour peer Lord Lawson of Beamish.

Special police constables Sam Edgell, 63, and 61-year-old Robert Reay were also killed.

The other victims were 17-year-old Gwen Hannant, Matilda Seymour, the 77-year-old grandmother of Irene, and Sylvia's mother, 45-year-old Elizabeth Ann Spence.

Little was reported of the tragedy at the time due to the news black-out, but the story was researched by local historian Jack Hair, who has since published a book called The Bombs at Beamish.

Following its publication there were calls for a fitting memorial, which won widespread local support, leading to the creation of the garden and commemorative stone. Backed by Durham Police, Urpeth parish council, Chester-le-Street District Council and county councillors Jim Cordon, David Marshall and Les Vaux, the memorial was unveiled by North Durham MP Kevan Jones during a dedication service on Saturday.

Durham Police choir and band performed at the service, while members of the special police constabulary were present to honour the death of Mr Edgell and Mr Reay.

The Revs Roger Brown and John Lintern, plus Canon John Scorer, conducted the ceremony. The 150-strong gathering included other dignitaries, relatives of the dead and several survivors.

Mr Hair, of South Moor, said: "It was a very fitting occasion. It's good to see so many people who had a personal involvement or whose relatives were involved.

"But there were families who lost relatives who couldn't bring themselves to come after all these years."