A family claim that a 94 year-old widow’s wedding ring was stolen from her finger as she lay in hospital recovering from a stroke.
Marguerite Sanderson had worn the gold band constantly since the day she married her late husband Charles in September 1939.
But it went missing as she was being treated in Royal Blackburn Hospital and her family claims it must have been stolen.
Her daughter Jean said it would have been impossible for the ring to fall off by itself as her mother has a lump on her finger.
Jean, 70, said: “For the ring to come off it has to be pulled off.
“I went to visit her at night and the ring was still on her finger, and then when my sister came the following morning at 10am it was gone.
“Because of the stroke my mother can’t talk, but she’s aware of what is going on around her and she can hear what people are saying. She knows the ring has gone missing.
“When I was talking about the ring she was looking at her finger and trying her best to talk, she’s heartbroken.”
Marguerite, from Lowerhouse, Lancs., married her childhood sweetheart Charles at the age of 19. He died in 1990, aged 74.
Jean said she and her family are ‘disgusted’ that the theft has been allowed to happen while her mother was being cared for.
She added: “You hear of things like this all the time happening at hospitals, it’s disgusting and it shouldn’t be happening.
“I reported it to the police and they originally said they were investigating, but they’ve since been back in touch and told me there’s nothing they can do.”
A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: “We can confirm this has been reported to us and if any further information comes to light we will look into it.”
Meanwhile, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust said: “The Trust takes very seriously any allegation raised about the security of patient possessions and we have been in contact with the patients relatives about the loss of the ring.
“We encourage patients not to bring personal possessions with them when they come to hospital or, where it is not possible in the case of an emergency admission, to give any jewellery to the ward manager who will receipt it and store it securely.
“We will also shortly be piloting lockable patient valuable drawers on bedside lockers across 11 wards in the Trust which we hope will strengthen our security procedures.”
by Rachel McDermott