A SPECIAL exhibition will offer glimpse into the plight faced by children during the Holocaust.

From today, Monday, January 21 to Friday, January 25, an exhibition titled ‘No Child’s Play’ will go on display at Chester Lane Library ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day on Friday.

It is on loan from Yad Vashem – Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.

The exhibition will then move to Haydock Library where it will be showcased from Monday, January 28 to Saturday, February 2.

A formal commemoration ceremony to mark Holocaust Memorial Day will take place in St Helens Town Hall on Friday, January 25 at 10am. The event will see performances and readings from school children based on this year’s theme, ‘Torn from Home'.

St Helens Council’s cabinet member for community based and focused services, Councillor Anthony Burns, said: “Holocaust Memorial Day provides us with an opportunity for all the diverse strands of our communities to come together, to not only honour the survivors who suffered in the Holocaust under Nazi persecution, but it's also a chance to look to our own lives and communities today."

This event is free to attend but places must be booked in advance by visiting culturalhubs.eventbrite.co.uk.

Residents are also being urged to show their contempt for hate crime – by signing an online pledge.

Hate crime is any offence committed against individuals, groups and communities because of who they are. It is an act motivated by someone's prejudice towards another person because of his or her age, disability, gender identity, race, religion or belief or sexuality.

If you wish to sign the pledge, go to sthelens.gov.uk/hatecrime

If you've have been victim to, or have witnessed hate crime, you can report it to Stop Hate UK on 0800 1381625, or Merseyside Police on 101.