The victims of an inferno that ripped through a restaurant will be remembered decades after their tragic deaths.

When a blaze broke out at the popular Crypt steak restaurant in Bench Street, Dover, it claimed the lives of six people who were living in the flats above, as well as fireman John Sharp, who was posthumously given the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct, for his selfless actions on the night.

The tragedy struck in March 1977 when a fire broke out in the kitchen and completely gutted the building and more than 40 years later all that remains of the restaurant is a pile of rubble.

Councillors Graham Wanstall and Ann Burke held an informal service at the now boarded-up site in March and said prayers for the fireman and the family who perished in the blaze.

Since then The Crypt Group has been formed and members are planning to place a commemorative plaque to honour the seven people who died.

Cllr Wanstall, the group's chairman, has been negotiating with Highways England to place the plaque in the subway directly below the building that leads from the town to the seafront.

He said: "The restaurant was very popular and there was an outcry after the fire because it was said that fire doors had been locked and the family hadn't been able to get out.

"It was a tragedy and the youngest person to die in the fire was just 18 months old."

He added: "There's now derelict mess where the restaurant was and it looks like a bomb site.

"We want to make the 42 year of the anniversary of the fire in 2019 a fitting one by putting a plaque up to honour the dead."

The Crypt Group members include the fireman's widow Glenda and two firefighters who fought the blaze on the night.

In the long term it is Cllr Wanstall's ambition to see the crypt opened up and a memorial garden built above it.