Pupils at an Angus school have held a daylight vigil to remember the Chernobyl nuclear disaster 25 years on.
A cloud of radioactivity spread across Europe on April 26, 1986, following two explosions at one of the reactors at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station, in northern Ukraine.
Since then, Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline has worked to raise funds and forge links with organisations in countries across the world to help the victims of the fallout.
The number 25 is at the centre of the charity’s campaign this year and children at St Thomas Primary in Arbroath were in formation to mark the disaster.
The school has been involved in bringing eastern European children affected by radiation to Scotland since 1999 and several families in the area annually volunteer to take the youngsters in for a few days during the visits.
Head teacher Lesley Hall said, “The school has been very close to the charity for many years and we were contacted to say a representative would like to come over to spend the anniversary with the pupils.
“Chernobyl is back in everybody’s thoughts just now because of what has happened in Japan and the children have been studying the history of the disaster and other disasters throughout world history.”
Activists lit 25 candles at Independence Square in Kiev at around 1am on Tuesday, around the time of the blast a quarter of a century ago, which affected more than 50,000 square km in Ukraine alone.
Memorial services were held across the country, attended by many senior government officials and representatives of non-government organisations.
David Winson, of Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline, said events at the Fukushima nuclear plant, in Japan, had brought Chernobyl back into the forefront of people’s minds.
“Many people had forgotten it,” he said. “Many young people had never even heard of it, so Japan has brought it back into the limelight.”
Photo by Jim Ratcliffe.