Dozens of people attended a candle-lit vigil in Ely on Monday night to mark the beginning of the First World War.

Ely Standard: A 'lights out' service was held at Ely's war memorialA 'lights out' service was held at Ely's war memorial (Image: Archant)

The ‘lights out’ event was hosted by the Ely branch of the Royal British Legion and took place by the city’s war memorial, in Market Place.

About 100 people attended the event, many lighting candles, while a selection of readings and poems were given by members of the legion and the deputy mayor of Ely, Cllr John Yates.

A vigil was held, followed by a two-minute silence, after which the host of candles lighting the Market Place were extinguished at 11pm – the time exactly 100 years ago that Britain declared war on Germany.

Susan Harrison, who attended the event, described the ceremony as “very simple, very lovely and very moving”.