Sheffield man's heartache as wife's ashes are stolen from new house

A Sheffield man has spoken of how ‘gutted’ he feels after his late wife’s ashes were stolen when thieves took planters from outside his new house in Grenoside.
By Lloyd Bent
Published 9th Oct 2021, 04:30 BST
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Andy Foulkes, aged 58, placed his beloved wife Lily’s ashes in some planters that she loved after she died five years ago.

In the process of moving into a new home he is doing up on Wheel Lane in Grenoside he put the planters in the garden.

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However, while he was away in Scotland he found that thieves had broken in and taken the planters, as well as £1,000 worth of garden furniture.

Andy's wife Lily's ashes were in one of the planters that was stolen.Andy's wife Lily's ashes were in one of the planters that was stolen.
Andy's wife Lily's ashes were in one of the planters that was stolen.

Andy, who runs a construction business, says workmen were at the property until 3pm on Monday, October 4 and then returned at 5pm. It was in that window that the items were stolen.

Andy said: “Somebody must have gone onto the site in broad daylight, looking like they were working on it, looking for things to steal. They must have known nobody was in as there’s lots of houses on that road with open driveways but they picked this one.

“It’s not like the planters are worth anything, we just liked them because of how they looked with the plants in there.

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“And they won’t have known the ashes were in there, so it just seems crazy to take them. I understand the garden furniture as that’s worth a bit.

Andy Foulkes with a message for the thieves who stole his wife's ashes along with all his garden furniture.Andy Foulkes with a message for the thieves who stole his wife's ashes along with all his garden furniture.
Andy Foulkes with a message for the thieves who stole his wife's ashes along with all his garden furniture.

"Obviously I’m gutted. The planters were things that were important to Lily which is why I put the ashes in there.”

Andy said that the support he has received from his new community in Ecclesfield and Grenoside has helped him a great deal, and made him feel positive about the new place he has moved into.

“The response from people has been amazing,” he said.

“I posted about it on Facebook and I’ve had about 400 kind messages. It has made me feel very good about the people in the area.”

Andy has not yet reported the incident to the police, but if you know anything about the theft of his wife’s ashes you can contact South Yorkshire Police on 101 to pass on information.