RESIDENTS at Belong Care Village in Crewe have placed the final seal on a memory box recording their lives during the pandemic.

They have marked the ending of restrictions on Monday (July 19) by completing a collection of testing kits, PPE and newspaper clippings and photography amassed over the last 18 months, many of them in lockdown inside the Brookhouse Drive care complex.

Messages of support from local children have also been included in the box, which has been wrapped up with a daffodils decoration to inspire hope over the next twelve months.

The box is due to be reopened this time next year.

The project, completed in conjunction with National Activity Providers Association, National Care Forum and Beacon Consultancy, aims to afford Belong's residents and tenants the opportunity to reminisce, which is a proven approach to support people living with dementia.

Tenant Margaret Jackson, 83, said: "It will be good for us to get together in a year's time and look back at everything we've been through. The past year has been a challenge and I'm glad to have a bit of normality in life again."

Jessica Butler, experience coordinator at Belong Crewe, added: "We got involved to use the challenges of Covid as a positive experience for our customers. Encouraging them to reflect on the past 18 months helps them to recall other moments in their lives, as well as bring them a sense of purpose in creating a treasure trove of memories."