FAMILIES of the victims of the Shoreham Airshow disaster gathered at 1.22pm yesterday for a minute’s silence.

The moment marked exactly three years since a Hawker Hunter jet crashed on to the A27 – on August 22, 2015 – with devastating consequences.

Flowers were laid at the memorial on the Old Shoreham Toll Bridge in honour of the 11 men who lost their lives.

Caroline Schilt, whose 23-year-old son Jacob died in the tragedy, said she felt “numb” during the minute’s silence.

She said: “I can’t believe that three years have gone past and we’re still feeling exactly the same as when it happened.

“But it’s also amazing that we have all gathered together and can take some comfort from each other.”

Also killed in the incident were Jacob’s Worthing Utd teammate Matthew Grimstone, 23; personal trainer Matt Jones, 24, from Littlehampton, and his friend Daniele Polito, 23, a young father from Goring; window cleaner Mark Trussler, 49, a father of six from Worthing; wedding chauffeur Maurice Abrahams, 76, from Brighton; Mark Reeves, 53, a computer-aided design technician from Seaford; cyclist Richard Smith, 26, from Hove; father-of-two Dylan Archer, 42, from Brighton; aircraft enthusiast Tony Brightwell, 52, a health care manager for Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Brighton and Hove City Council; and retired engineer Graham Mallinson, 72, from Newick, a life member and active volunteer of the Bluebell Railway.

Mrs Schilt said: “I just feel numb at those sort of moments, it’s other moments that I think about Jacob really deeply but today it’s almost just disbelief.

“It was very comforting with everybody being there together feeling the same way.”

One by one, Deacon Julie Newson, from St Luke’s Church in Brighton, read out the names of the victims to the families on the bridge.

Those gathered consoled each other as a single blue balloon was released over the bridge after the silence.

Deacon Julie has been offering support to those affected ever since the crash.

She said: “During the silence I thought about what a remarkable tragedy this is.

“These poor people are still trying to come to terms with it but they never will.

“You’ll never get over somebody dying in such sudden and traumatic circumstances. I was also thinking about those men who died and the pieces that have been left in the wake of their death.”

Mrs Schilt said her thoughts were also with the seven West Sussex fire brigade members who attended the ceremony.

She said: “It was so touching that the fire brigade came and laid a wreath and stayed for the silence.

“It was really respectful and we will be forever grateful to them for the part they played.

“It must have had a terrible impact on them.”

The six-tonne jet that crashed on to the A27 also injured 16 people and destroyed eight vehicles.

Pilot Andrew Hill survived. He has been charged with 11 counts of manslaughter and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

He is due to stand trial at the Old Bailey in January.

An inquest into the crash will take place after the trial.

Shoreham Airshow had been running for more than 20 years but has not been held since the disaster.

Lynn Mccarthy is a resident from Lancing who walks her dogs over the bridge twice a week. She said: “Every time you I walk over the bridge and see the memorial, it brings back what happened.

“It was lovely to walk past today and see all those beautiful flowers there.”