Moving tributes as Lee Rigby memorial unveiled in soldier's hometown

Rigby's widow Rebecca touches the memorial at the service. Credit: Peter Byrne/PA Wire

A memorial to murdered soldier Lee Rigby has been unveiled at a service in his home town.

The bronze drum and plaque were put on public display during a dedication service at Middleton Memorial Gardens in Greater Manchester, with the Fusilier's family and friends present.

The bronze drum and plaque stand at a memorial garden in Rigby's hometown. Credit: Peter Byrne/PA Wire

Rigby was just 25 when he was brutally killed outside his barracks in Woolwich in May 2013, and tributes were left today marking the "ultimate sacrifice" of the drummer and machine gunner.

Rigby's four-year-old son, Jack, was among those present, and left a floral tribute with his mother, Rebecca, at the memorial with a message reading: "Me and Mummy Miss and Love You lots and lots. Jack xxx."

The note left by Rigby's son Jack at the memorial. Credit: Peter Byrne/PA Wire

The soldier's mother, stepfather and father were also present.

Speaking at the ceremony, Colonel Mike Glover, the regimental secretary of the Lancashire Fusiliers, said that day of Rigby's death - where "the horror of the battlefields was brought to the streets of Woolwich - would "forever be embedded in our nation's history".

Fusilier Rigby was killed aged 25 outside his Woolwich barracks. Credit: PA

Alongside the monument to Rigby will stand a new memorial wall in the gardens, where tributes to other local soldiers will be left over time.