A widow has been told she can not put vases of flowers on a bench in Stonehouse dedicated to her husband.

Zenda Trim had attached the vases on each end of the bench outside the doctor’s surgery she put there in memory of Mike Trim, an engineer and a local race driver hero who passed away last year.

 

But Stonehouse Town Council wrote a letter to Zenda at the beginning of October asking that she remove the vases within 14 days.

“They contacted me the day before the anniversary of my husband’s death - they couldn’t have picked a worse day,” Zenda told the SNJ.

In the letter the town council told Zenda the bench, which she had bought herself for £900, was now in the public domain and “should not be confused with a personal shrine.”

Zenda says she was “gobsmacked”.

 

“I just couldn’t believe it. I can totally understand where they’re coming from - they don’t want teddies and picture and candles all over Stonehouse’s benches - but these are just two small vases that match the colour of the bench.”

Zenda was with Mike since 1991, having met while they were both employed by Stonehouse Root Systems.

Mike ended up working there for forty years and his mum and dad had lived in Stonehouse during the war.

 

“Mike was well-known and loved in Stonehouse,” Zenda said.

“His funeral was an eye-opener to me - it was packed, with absolutely no standing room.”

“Many people knew him from CB radio - his nickname was Timberjack.”

 

When we asked the town council why it told Zenda to remove the vases, a spokesperson said: “We always tries to assist residents with their requests for memorial seats.

“On this occasion the widow was allowed a prominent position on the High Street for a seat to commemorate her late husband.

“The seat is street furniture and as such we asked her not to adorn the seat with vases and plastic flowers.

“Understanding that she was marking an anniversary we allowed her time to remove them.”

Zenda still has not removed the vases and she has now put poppies in them in the run-up to Remembrance Day.