WATCH: Living with Lockerbie, 30 years on

The 270 people killed when a passenger plane exploded over the town of Lockerbie 30 years ago will be remembered at services across the UK today.

Wreaths will be laid at a memorial garden in Lockerbie where the wreckage of the bombed Pan Am Flight 103 came down on the night of December 21st, 1988.

The low-key service at Dryfesdale Cemetery this afternoon will see victims' relatives join members of the community who assisted in the aftermath of the atrocity, the largest act of mass murder committed on British soil in recent history.

George Stobbs was the Chief Inspector at the time, he spoke exclusively to our reporter Kerri-Ann Docherty about that night:

He said the events that night still have a lasting effect on him to this day:

Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell says the tragedy has a lasting affect on all of the people who live here, 30 years on:

The majority of those on board the jet were American citizens, including 35 students of Syracuse University in New York State.

The enduring ties and friendships created following the Lockerbie bombing have left a legacy of hope for the future, according to Nicola Sturgeon.

The First Minister was speaking in the Scottish Parliament ahead of the 30th anniversary of the tragedy:

That sentiment is one backed up by the Headteacher of Lockerbie Academy, Brian Asher:

He says his pupils and the community around the school refuse to be defined by the the bombing. Here's 6th year pupils, Euan Murray, Rowan Chisholm and Thomas Crosby:

Another pupil hoping to be picked for the Scholarship in America is Aisling Anderson, the 17 year old says the town will never allow the tragedy to be forgotten but it's important they're allowed to move on:

Lockerbie man Colin Dorrance was just 18 when the plane exploded in the sky, he'd only been in the police force for 6 months and was first on the scene. He told us how his children were able to gain a fantastic experience from a horrible night that lives with him to this day:

Canon Patrick Keegans, parish priest in Lockerbie at the time of the disaster, will speak at Mass led by Bishop William Nolan at the town's Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church on Friday evening.

Mr Keegans survived as his street, Sherwood Crescent, was showered with debris that destroyed homes and killed his neighbours.

Now semi-retired and based in Prestwick, Ayrshire, he said memories of that night would never leave those who lived through it.

The 72-year-old said: "It doesn't go away, it stays with people. Especially those who have lost family and those who have been involved in any sort of way.

"It's part of our life now. We live with it. We don't live miserable, sad lives but there's an undercurrent all the time.

"Those memories of the night and subsequent memories, they stay with me, they are part and parcel of who I am now."

A memorial will be held at the university and at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where a cairn made from Lockerbie stone stands in memory of those who died.

A 30th anniversary service will also be held at FBI headquarters in Washington DC.

Back in Scotland, a Walk of Peace has been arranged by the Church of Scotland on Saturday to remember those who died.

People will climb Burnswark Hill near Lockerbie in silence following a special service at Tundergarth Parish Church the previous day.

The church is close to where the nose cone of the plane, Clipper Maid of the Seas, came to rest.

The Rev Adam Dillon, Clerk to the Presbytery of Annandale and Eskdale, said: "The horror of the night will live on in the memories of those who lived in Tundergarth and Lockerbie.

"This 30th anniversary gives the communities a chance to focus on looking forward - drawing on the resilience and temerity that has been required of them since 1988. My thoughts and prayers remain with all affected."

The only person convicted of the bombing, former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi , died in 2012 after being released from Greenock jail on compassionate grounds.