A PENSIONER accused of killing his wife in their Dunster home last October will be tried at Bristol Crown Court on June 21, court officials revealed this week.

At the latest of several hearings at Bristol Crown Court, Hugh Webber, 78, was charged with the murder of his 77-year-old wife Angela, and was remanded in custody until the trial.

Webber was arrested at Stag Cottage, St George’s Street, Dunster, the secluded £600,000 period home he had shared with his wife for many years.

It was said that Mrs Webber, a former parish councillor and well-known for her community and charity work, suffered stab wounds to her upper body.

She was declared dead at the scene after police and paramedics responded to a 999 call at about 3am on Thursday, October 29.

At a hearing before two magistrates at Taunton Crown Court two days later, Webber, bald and bearded, stood emotionless as it was alleged he murdered his wife by stabbing her. Asked for his address, he said: “At the moment I have not got one.”

Tributes were paid in Dunster to one of the village’s most popular residents and Anne Miles, a long-time friend who spoke at Mrs Webber’s funeral, said this week that she was ‘a sweet person who is still sadly missed’.

She added: “Angela and I were best friends and it was always a pleasure to see her. She was always busy and involved in village life. It has been a great loss to Dunster.”

Dunster county councillor Christine Lawrence said Mrs Webber was “a lovely person who did a tremendous amount for the village and will be sadly missed. We worked together on Dunster Parish Council for many years.

“She loved helping people and was involved in pretty well everything that happened in the village.”

For the full story, see this week’s West Somerset Free Press.