More than 200 Cestrians turned out to pay their respects to the victims of the Orlando massacre on Monday (June 13) at a special candlelight vigil outside Chester Town Hall .

Matthew Poynton, Craig Gilmartin and Alex Cefai who present the LGBT show on local radio station Flipside Radio wanted to do something to pay tribute to the 49 people killed after gunman Omar Mateen opened fire at a gay nightclub in the Florida city on Sunday - and to spread the message 'love is stronger than hate'.

Members of the public and local dignitaries including CWaC leader Samantha Dixon , the Lord Mayor of Chester Angela Claydon and the mayor of Ellesmere Port Peter Rooney all attended the vigil with candles to show their support to all the victims of the massacre, which was described as an ‘act of terror’ by US president Barack Obama.

A candlelight vigil for the victims of Orlando shooting at Chester Town Hall

Craig, who organised the event in just a few hours, told The Chronicle how proud he was of the people of Chester for joining together and uniting in solidarity.

“I was so proud of the people of Chester coming together in honour of all those innocent people who were senselessly murdered simply because of who they were and who they loved,” he said.

“We decided that we as a city should do something and we did - we joined together in solidarity, to show that love always wins and hate wont prevail.

“Normally for events like this the LGBT community have to travel to Manchester or Liverpool, but why? We have a massive LGBT community right here in Chester, but this vigil wasn’t about being LGBT - it was about being human.”

Dozens of people turned out to Chester Town Hall for a candlelight vigil in memory of the Orlando shooting victims

Craig added: “Never when I planned this event did I expect so many people to turn up to honour our fallen brothers and sisters. Especially in the short eight hours it took us to set it up, but Chester did it and we were honoured to be joined by over 200 people who were still arriving at the Town Hall at 10pm to light candles.

“Whether you are LGBT, straight, or an ally, Chester has proved that love is louder. Chester is a proud city with a proud heritage and together we stood in solidarity with Orlando.”

Matthew added: “I am an emotional wreck at the moment. A huge thank you to everyone that came and showed that we will stand with Orlando. My heart breaks thinking of those people that lost their lives for being themselves.”