Sir David Amess stabbing: Councillor makes long trip to lay flowers

Councillor Ian Sherwood travelled from Swaffham in Norfolk to Leigh-on-Sea on Saturday

A councillor made a 200-mile round trip to lay flowers at the site where Sir David Amess was killed.

Conservative Ian Sherwood, of Breckland District Council, drove from Swaffham in Norfolk to Leigh-on-Sea in Essex on Saturday, a journey of about two and a half hours.

He said he had met Sir David a number of times and felt "numbed".

"I was just terribly saddened and felt that I wanted to come down and pay my respects," he said.

"You can't comprehend it. I didn't know how I'd feel when I got here but I'm so glad I made that effort."

Councillor Ian Sherwood said he had met Sir David a number of times and wanted to pay his respects

Mr Sherwood, a constituency agent, said he had met Sir David through the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation and their "shared passion" for animal welfare.

"Sir David gave his life to this constituency. He was so passionate," he said.

"I think when politics turns to violence, we've all lost a great democratic process and I just can't believe it's come to this.

"This isn't how you resolve political issues; you do that at the ballot box, not through violence.

"I feel numbed by what happened in this country where democracy is so important."

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Mr Sherwood said he "didn't know how he'd feel" when he arrived but was glad he made the journey