Thousands of residents flocked to the Colwyn Bay beach to see a giant sand portrait created as a sign of remembrance.

A large-scale portrait of Hedd Wyn was drawn into the sand and engagement activities included creating a memorial wall of messages and local stories took place in Colwyn Bay on Remembrance Day (on Sunday) as part of Hollywood filmmaker Danny Boyle's Pages of the Sea event.

Colwyn Bay was one of 32 beaches chosen across the UK to take part and more than 6000 residents joined in with tens of thousands across the country taking part in this event to pay their respects for the men and women that gave their loves during the First World War.

In addition to the large-scale sand portrait the public were asked to join in by creating silhouettes of people in the sand and adding names of family members or people from their community, all as part of remembering the millions of lives lost.

Poet Carol Anne Duffy was invited by Danny Boyle to write a poem to mark the centenary of Armistice Day. The poem, The Wound in Time, was read by individuals, families and communities as they gathered on Colwyn Bay beach.

The project’s Resource Centre at Porth Eirias was a hub of activity throughout the day with the public able to watch drone photographs and video of the beach portrait as well as contribute to the Memorial Wall and participate in post-card embroidery.

Poetry workshops contributed to a recorded soundscape that also included English and Welsh readings of Carol Ann Duffy’s poem.

Staff and resources were on hand to help people trace information on relatives that fought in the First World War alongside numerous books on the War and on Hedd Wyn, the subject of the sand portrait.

Ceramic plaques, copies of WWI ‘Death Pennies’ recreated by local schoolchildren were also exhibited.

Mr Boyle said: "Beaches are truly public spaces, where nobody rules other than the tide.

"They were the perfect place to gather and say a final goodbye and thank you to those whose lives were taken or forever changed by the First World War.

"I invited communities to come together and watch as the faces of the fallen were drawn in the sand and to remember the sacrifices they made.”

Pages of the Sea was commissioned and produced by 14-18 NOW and is the culmination of the five-year programme of arts commissions marking the First World War centenary.

Jenny Waldman, Director of 14-18 NOW, said: “Danny Boyle has devised a truly memorable project – directed and inspired by local communities all around our coastline. Pages of the Sea is a fitting tribute to the millions of men and women who lost their lives in the First World War.”