Loving memorial to wife returns home

Retired landscape gardener Derek Bennett wrote a loving message on a concrete post to his late wife Fay who died of breast cancer in 2000.

The post was situated in a spot on Cannock Chase where they pair used to regularly walk and Mr Bennett visited it daily when his wife passed away.

But when Severn Trent Water began a multi-million pound project to replace water pipes in the area, it had to be moved.

Thankfully, bosses at the company tracked 76-year-old Mr Bennett down and the memorial was moved and taken to his house. It now takes pride of place in the garden of his home in Weeping Cross.

He said: "We used to walk up to the pumping station when Fay was ill and she would always lean on the post when she got tired.

"When she died I wanted to have a lasting memory of her up there so I wrote on the post. I also scattered some of her ashes up there.

"Ever since she died I have been going up to the same spot almost every day, even when I'm ill."

Mr Bennett would even place flowers around the post in memory of his late wife.

He continued: "One day a note was left on the memorial asking who it belonged to and if they could contact Severn Trent Water so I did.

"They told me they needed to move the post so they brought it to me. Now it's in the garden. It's nice that it's there. I can see it every day now."

For 14 years, the post was situated by the pumping station in Milford. Mr Bennett wrote 'I love you Fay' on the post using a marker pen, along with his wife's date of birth and date of death.

Mrs Bennett was aged 59 when she died. The pair had three children.

Colin Flay, project manager for Amey, who are carrying out the work on Severn Trent Water's behalf, said: "It was obvious that this spot meant a lot to someone and we knew we couldn't just call in the bulldozers with it there."