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A new memorial commemorating the tragic death of Darren Smith and the two children he tried to save in a house fire will be unveiled this week.

Darren lost his life trying to save two-year-old Geraint Lewis and his nine-month-old sister Jade from a fire in their home on the Lansbury Park estate in December 1989.

He was just 20-years-old.

Questions were raised by residents last year after Caerphilly County Borough Council announced the existing plaque would be removed from the former GP surgery.

Now, that memorial has been installed by the council on green space in Maxton Park, with two trees planted in memory of Geraint and Jade.

It will be officially unveiled at 3pm on Friday April 28, with the event being officiated by Caerphilly County Borough mayor Liz Aldworth.

Cllr Aldworth said: “It will be a privilege to join the families of Darren, Geraint and Jade in officially opening the new memorial and remembering the incredible sacrifice made and great loss on that tragic night.

“We hope it will become a space where family, friends and the wider community can visit to reflect, remember and celebrate the lives that were sadly lost.”

Darren’s bravery

At around 10.45pm on December 29, 1989, a fire broke out on the ground floor of a two-storey maisonette in Maxton Court, Lansbury Park.

Neighbour Darren Smith heard the cries for help from the mother living in the flat and, together with another neighbour, tried to break in through the front door.

Darren managed to break through and went into the burning building in an attempt to save the two children – Geraint and his sister Jade.

While the mother of the children found a way out, the neighbour and Darren became separated in the thick smoke of the fire. The neighbour, unable to breath, came out for fresh air before heading back into the flat. As the fire grew, he was forced to leave once again.

Firefighters later found the body of Darren, a security guard, and the two children.

For his efforts, Darren was posthumously awarded the The Queen’s Gallantry Medal for exemplary bravery.