Mother’s plea after roadside cross ‘stolen’

Pat Noakes’s son Sean Taylor (36) died following a collision on the A16 between Fulstow and Ludborough in September.

In tribute to the doting father of three, one of Sean’s best friends crafted a mahogany cross, with a hand-made copper rose and plaques with Sean’s name, which was placed at the crash site. However, the cross is now missing and the family is desperate to have it returned.

Pat said: “Our family is devastated it has been stolen, especially his six-year-old daughter who looks for the cross every time we drive past. This is very distressing at this extremely sad time in our lives and we want to appeal to the public for help to retrieve Sean’s memorial.”

The family regularly lay flowers at the cross, but when they visited last week, they say flowers were ‘strewn across the road’ and the cross, which was cemented in, was missing.

It is believed it was taken between Sunday November 26 and Monday November 27 and was reported to the police on Tuesday November 28.

Pat said: “The cross was well back from the road and, really, if you didn’t know it was there you wouldn’t see it. It was a place for us and the children to go and pay our respects; we would just like to have it back.”

Sean was the sole occupant of the car, which collided with a tree.

Paying tribute shortly afterwards, his family described him as “6ft 4ins, larger than life and everyone knew when he was around”.

His family said: “Sean was a hardworking chap that loved his job, colleagues, his friends and especially his family.”The family liaison officer for Lincolnshire Police said: “This is so terribly sad and I can not understand why anyone would do this."

Email: [email protected] quoting crime reference 23000734732 with any information.