A crowdfunding campaign has launched in an effort to raise £2.3 million to build a permanent memorial in London to the victims of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As part of the online memorial project Remember Me, and in partnership with the Daily Mail, the country is being encouraged to support a memorial to be built in St Paul’s Cathedral.

Remember Me, led by St Paul’s Cathedral and supported by the Prince of Wales, has more than 7,300 names of those who have died as a result of the pandemic since it launched in May last year.

It is hoped that the campaign will prompt others to add the names of their loved ones.

The dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, Dr David Ison, said: “The physical memorial at St Paul’s will anchor the online book in a place where significant events and people have been commemorated for many centuries.

The memorial would follow on from the National Covid Memorial Wall, in Westminster

The memorial would follow on from the National Covid Memorial Wall, in Westminster

“Together with the online memorial it will allow members of the public to call up a person’s photograph and short epitaph written by their family or friends into a reflective space, as a way of inspiring reflection, prayer or lighting a candle.”

The portico memorial has been designed by Oliver Caroe, surveyor of the fabric of the cathedral, who lost his mother to Covid-19 aged 81 on April 5 last year.

The first 5,000 people who donate more than £25 to the fund will receive a memorial candle and those donating more than £50 will receive an annual Friends of St Paul’s’ membership.

To donate, visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/remember-me-physical-memorial