A YOUNG man who lost his grandmother to coronavirus has created a memorial website - and others can add tributes to loved ones they have lost in the pandemic.

Alistair MacLeod, 23, from Fulford, York, lost his grandmother, Sheila Black, aged 85, to coronavirus last month.

He decided to create a memorial website to remember Sheila because he did not want her to be “just be another number” that was read out at the Government's daily press conferences.

He said: “At the start of last month I lost my beloved grandma Sheila to Covid-19, which shook my entire family. On April 28, we went round to check on her - after not hearing from her for several hours - and found her collapsed on the floor.

“Paramedics came to visit her and there was no inclination of her having coronavirus, nor did she show any symptoms.

“But the virus took hold of her and just a couple of days later we were told that she would not make it and they would not be able to put her on the ventilator.

“Myself and my whole family were shocked, gutted and devastated.

“At the 5pm briefing that day, the numbers were read out revealing 620 people had also passed away - 620 other families, 620 other friendship groups devastated.

"I wanted Sheila to be remembered much more personally, I didn’t want her death to be just another number. None of these deaths should just be numbers.

“So I started work on a simple online website, called Not Another Number, where people can add memorials for the loved ones they have lost from Covid-19.

“I spent a lot of time searching for ways to pay tribute to my wonderful grandma but with the lockdown and a 10-minute time limit on funerals, it has been hard - I’m hoping this website will help others as it is helping me.”

He added: “I know other people will be feeling like this and others won’t even have been able to say goodbye to loved ones throughout this pandemic.

“I hope that this website can create a small memory.

“The memorial can consist of a picture, name, year range and some personal text - a poem, a funny story, a message of love, anything deemed appropriate.”

Alistair said that the website rotates through memorials every 10 seconds - so the viewer can pause whenever they like and those who add a memorial can view and share their own.

He said: “In time I want to make each memorial even more personal - with the option of those applying for the memorial to upload an audio clip of them reading their loved one’s name.”

He said the website is now live and, so far, he has received several responses from York residents who are thankful for the opportunity to remember a loved one they have lost.

He said: “I want to make other families going through the same situation as mine aware of this platform and hopefully we can help each other through these hard times and get to know more about the faces and lives of the people behind these numbers.”

To find out more about the website, or to contribute, visit https://notanothernumber.co.uk