Many young people remember losing a friend or classmate while at school.

Now residents in Thame hope to provide a lasting memorial and a place to remember all those from the area who died too young.

The Thame Youth Memorial Garden project was first suggested in 2008 and a site was allocated and dedicated in 2010. Now, after two years of fundraising, organisers have unveiled plans for a centrepiece.

Memorial trust chairman Mike Dyer said: “When my lads were younger, we had a couple of friends who died. One of their close school friends died from a brain tumour and then we knew a young lady who died in a car crash.

“Both of their deaths had an impact on us all.

“Then someone mentioned a tribute friends had been leaving to a girl who died in a car crash outside Thame.

“They had looked after it for years, so we thought it would be fitting to have somewhere more permanent.”

The group has raised nearly £30,000 for the design, which is based around the themes of Infinity and Reflection.

Another £12,000 is needed to complete the project, which should be in place by the end of this year. The design includes semi-circular benches with a water feature at the centre.

An ‘infinity memorial band’ will encircle the water, with a space for names of those lost to be engraved.

There will also be a marble sculpture, and space for a time capsule.

Mr Dyer said: “Four or five families have been on board with the project, but we know there must be about 30 or 40 who have been affected by the loss of a young relative in the last 10 years. We aren’t going to directly contact them, but we would like them to know this garden is here for them.

“As far as we are aware, this is the first garden of its kind in the country.”

Lord William’s School pupil Chloe Owens, 14, was killed when she was hit by a car in 2005. Her grandmother Cicely Binnee said: “It’s gorgeous, a really lovely idea to give people somewhere to go. Chloe’s friends still keep a memorial to her on the roadside, even though it is coming up seven years since she died.”

Messages of remembrance have also been left on the project’s website to 18-year-old Greg Stiles, who was killed in a 2009 car accident, and Laura Coleman, 16, killed in a car crash in 2002.

Visit thameyouthmemorial.org