A widower who lost his wife and son within a year of each other to sudden illnesses has suffered further heartbreak after a commemorative bench was targeted by mindless vandals.

Eric Uphoff was devastated when he heard the wooden bench, dedicated to Val, his wife of 50 years, had been carved with initials and its inscribed stainless steel plaque had also been unscrewed and stolen.

Mr Uphoff, 75, who lives in Horton Bank Top, said he desperately wants the plaque back.

“Who would do such a thing and why? The plaque is only small and worth nothing to no one else but to me and our family,” he said.

Mrs Uphoff died at the age of 72 from cancer two weeks after going into hospital for a twisted bowel operation.

“The cancer was a complete shock when they found it. We had no idea. Val went to the Marie Curie Hospice straight after and died two weeks later,” he said.

In her memory, Mr Uphoff and his daughter Julie came up with the idea of the bench and had one placed at a scenic spot overlooking Ogden Water, one of their favourite locations.

  • Read the full story in Thursday's T&A