A widow will receive an apology from Bradford Council after they removed a plaque dedicated to her husband without her knowledge.

Jane Aldridge spent a “heartbreaking” weekend in the belief the memorial to her late husband, Mick, had been stolen from Sugar Hill, off Main Street, Addingham.

She had reported the incident to the police after friends spotted that the plaque, planted next to a tree, had disappeared.

But Bradford Council said it was planning to apologise to Mrs Aldridge after saying they had taken the plaque for repairs after it was accidentally damaged during grass cutting – but had not told anybody.

The Council said it had no contact details for Mrs Aldridge to let her know the plaque had been removed.

Mrs Aldridge said she was relieved the whereabouts of the plaque had been discovered, but was upset she had not known about its removal.

“It would have saved me from a weekend of heartbreak,” she said.

Jane Glaister, the Council’s strategic director for culture, tourism and sport, said a direct apology would be made to Mrs Aldridge.