Flowers and tributes are being laid at a makeshift shrine on a footbridge close to the site of the Shoreham air crash.
Claudia Berman, 47, left a bouquet of flowers in the colours of Worthing United football club, which lost two of its players in the crash.
“My family’s been involved with Worthing United for 15 years so it hits home doubly hard,” she said. “My son plays for Worthing. He’s not the same age but, as a family, we’re involved with the club. I brought some blue and white flowers just to say they’re in our thoughts.
“The death toll keeps rising; it’s just horrendous. I just feel so bad that our lovely little town has been marked by this tragedy, but the residents have come together and it makes the residents proud to be part of this community.
“For me, I wanted to hold my kids a little bit closer and tell them I love them. It makes you thankful for what you’ve got and that you’re safe.”
Despite some heavy showers, people made their way to the bridge to leave tributes and view the dozens already there.
They included sunflowers and roses, many of which people had brought from their own garden, and also a solitary Brighton & Hove Albion football scarf.
With most of the victims still unnamed, many messages offered general words of support. “RIP heaven has gained more angels. Sleep in perfect peace xxx,” one read.
Shirley Paver, 62, broke down in tears as she read the tributes. “It’s difficult; it’s something that’s just hit the whole community,” she said. “You see these things happen on the TV and radio, it’s almost like you’re part of it. It’s extremely upsetting. I knew I’d cry, I brought a tissue.”
Pointing to the A27, she said: “There’s still people lying there. It could have been any of us locals. Everyone seems to know somebody who was two cars ahead [when the plane crashed].”
After laying tributes, the gaze of many shifted towards the A27, where emergency vehicles involved in the recovery operation could be seen from the footbridge.
A number of people brought their children to the makeshift memorial. Among them was Emma Watkins, 41, with daughter Harriet. “We had been swimming and could have been on that road,” she said. “We wanted to show that people are thinking of those who have sadly lost their lives. People are just really shocked, can’t believe something so awful has happened on the road. The airshow is a great event, it’s so sad. There’s a real sense of people saying we feel we should offer support and do whatever we can.”
