A widow has called for three teens who stole her late husband’s ashes to be locked up.

Kathryn Gibson was appalled when she discovered that burglars had broken into the family home on Lime Road, Accrington, and stolen Robert Gibson’s ashes.

Police managed to recover the precious item from waste land at nearby Horne Street just hours later.

But Kathryn said she is still haunted by the incident and condemned the teenagers for their ‘despicable’ crimes.

She said: “This has brought it all back and now I’m just waiting to see what happens to them.

“I would like to see them locked up, but at the end of the day will it stop them in the long run? I just don’t know what possessed them to take my husband’s ashes.

“I’m very grateful I got them back, but I still find it chilling. If they turned around and said they were sorry, I wouldn’t believe them.

“It’s been very distressing, and there has been huge cost after repairs to the back door.”

Mum-of-two Kathryn was married to the former Accrington and Blackburn Magistrate for 32 years.

Mr Gibson worked as an ambulance technician for 26 years, and later as a dial-a-ride driver.

On the weekends he worked as a co-ordinator for First Rail, and died suddenly at his work in Bolton on December 27 last year, aged 66.

Former administrator Mrs Gibson said the burglary left her shaken.

She said: “I still feel disgusted even now. I have a burglar alarm, but I’m still worried when I go out.

“I feel really nervous, not so much in the house, but when I go out I’m worried and I still think they will come back.”

The thieves are admitting a string of burglaries, including the theft at Mrs Gibson’s home on April 21.

The defendants, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at Burnley Crown Court this week, where all three admitted three counts of burglary, and two counts of theft of a motor vehicle.

Two of the defendants pleaded guilty to a further burglary and aggravated burglary.

All three were remanded in custody for the preparation of pre-sentence reports.

They will appear back at Crown Court on August 1 for sentence.