A grieving widow is desperately hoping for the safe return of her husband’s ashes after they were stolen from a parcel warehouse.
Chris Humbles, 75, died unexpectedly in October after developing septicaemia.
The former roadie and transport manage lived in Kent with his wife Diane for 24 years before retiring to Yorkshire eight years ago.
Diane, 69, asked the funeral home in Yorkshire to arrange for the safe transfer of his ashes to Charing Crematorium near Ashford, Kent so they could be scattered in the same place as other relatives.
The funeral home called on a specialist firm managing the transport of ashes to arrange the delivery, and deposited the package, as instructed, at a collection point.
The company commissioned Hermes to collect them and en route they were taken from the warehouse on a Kent industrial estate.
But the ashes were stolen, along with other items and a van, during a break-in overnight on November 25.
The funeral director in Yorkshire is now offering a cash reward for the safe return of the ashes.
Mrs Humbles, who was born in Folkestone, said: “There is an oak tree on the right at the front of the chapel in Charing where my parents and grandparents are.
“I was going to come down and stay with my cousin in Ashford to visit the crematorium where the ashes would have already been scattered and now that can’t happen. I am absolutely heartbroken.
“I just want to get my husband’s ashes back so he can rest in peace. This has been a really distressing time for me and my family.”
The couple, who live near Wakefield, had been married for 41 years and had four children between them, along with eight grand-children and three great-grandchildren.
They met when Mrs Humbles was working for a record label and he was a roadie before he became a transport manager.
Police have arrested two men in connection with the break-in.
David Walker, 23, of Second Avenue, Gillingham, and Jimmy Read, 23, of no fixed address, appeared before Medway Magistrates’ Court on November 28 charged with conspiring to commit burglary with intent to steal.
Both suspects were bailed to a hearing at Maidstone Crown Court on January 4.
An investigation into the burglary is ongoing.
