A widow has said she is ‘heartbroken’ after a plaque in Addingham dedicated to her late husband was stolen.

Jane Aldridge said she could not understand why thieves would steal the memorial to husband Mick, a former vice-chairman of the village’s parish council, who died in 2007.

Mrs Aldridge believes the plaque was stolen some time last Wednesday from its spot near a tree planted in Sugar Hill, off Main Street, in the village.

The tree, planted in Mr Aldridge’s honour, will eventually become the village’s Christmas tree.

And she says the decision to steal it was not taken lightly and must have had a degree of planning.

“It is heartbreaking,” she said. “It was a bit of a jolt. It’s not good. There was a bit of swearing going on in my house. It’s just pointless.

“It’s not something you could casually take off. It’s taken some effort to move it. I didn’t notice it had gone. On Friday lunchtime I called in the fish shop just opposite and a lady came in and said how awful it was and I hadn’t noticed.

“Somebody had put some bunting on for gala day earlier in the week so I know it was there on Tuesday.

“A friend of mine knew it was there on Wednesday, so we think it was Wednesday night.”

Mrs Aldridge says the police are aware of the theft, but she is already making plans to replace the plaque and the parish council have offered to help out. “The parish council are going to replace it for me, which is very kind of them,” she said.

“Mick was vice-chairman just before he died so they’ve very kindly said they’ll try to make it more secure, the next one.”

Mrs Aldridge said she feared it may have been stolen for scrap. The inscription on it reads: ‘Planted for Michael (Mick) Aldridge 1944 – 2007. Husband of Jane, parish councillor and friend of Addingham Village. Kindly donated by the Sir George Martin Trust and Addingham Parish Council’. A well-known figure in the area, Mr Aldridge died in November, 2007. He had suffered complications following a liver transplant earlier in the year.