A renewed call for a permanent memorial at the site of the Summerland fire have been made during an event to commemorate the victims of the tragedy.

Parts of the Isle of Man fell silent on Friday evening as two services were held to remember those who lost their lives in the disaster.

They were held to coincide with the 51st anniversary of the Summerland fire.

One of the events was organised by the Justice For Summerland Campaign Group which was set up to ensure that the memories of those lost and the lessons learned from the disaster are never forgotten.

A short distance away, a separate memorial service led by Douglas City Council took place at the Kaye Memorial Gardens. On August 2, 1973, a fire broke out at the Summerland site - at the time the largest indoor entertainment complex in Europe - which was located on Douglas Promenade.

The blaze, which was sparked by three young boys illicitly smoking cigarettes, ripped through the venue in minutes.

It claimed the lives of 50 people and among the dead were many UK holidaymakers visiting the Isle of Man during its tourism heyday.

Around 80 other people were injured in the blaze.

In 2013, Douglas Council unveiled a tribute to the victims of the disaster at the Summerland complex in the nearby Kaye Memorial Garden on Douglas Promenade.

However Tina Brennen, who watched the blaze tear through the complex from a distance, used part of her speech during Friday’s service at the Summerland site to demand that a memorial garden should be placed at the site.

She is a dedicated campaigner with the Justice For Summerland Campaign Group, a pressure group which has worked to overturn the death by misadventure verdicts delivered during the inquests.

Tina said it was ‘shameful’ that victims and their family members don’t have anywhere to lay flowers at the actual site.

She said: ‘It wasn’t until the 40th anniversary that I discovered the council were going to put a memorial in the Kaye Gardens.

‘I thought that this has gone on for long enough, this site is derelict and it had been until 2005, with nobody intending to do anything with it.

‘No buyer wanted to take it on, so why is the memorial in the Kaye Gardens?

‘It should be on this site, 50 people were killed here, surely that deserves a proper, fitting proportionate memorial in relation to the size of this huge tragedy?

‘It resonated around the world at the time [of the fire], when there was no social media and there was no digital technology, and it still went around the world rapidly.

‘People from further afield got to see what actually happened.

‘The fact that we have nowhere to lay our flowers is shameful, it’s shameful on our government and successive governments over these past 51 years.

‘Not one of them has had the courage to actually come here and look this tragedy in the face.

‘Our Chief Minister said last year that’s what he would do, but instead he stood down the road and decided that was the best place.’

The Mayor of Douglas, Mrs Natalie Byron-Teare, believes the Douglas Council site is a fitting tribute.

She said: ‘Having met a lot of the survivors over the last two years and hearing what they’ve been through, I think they’d appreciate us showing our support and solidarity.

‘Douglas Council own the site here at the garden, but don’t own the Summerland site anymore. They’ve placed the memorial site as close as they can to Summerland.

‘I think this site is beautiful. It overlooks the Summerland site, is a nice calming area and I think it’s a very fitting tribute.’