A widow was devastated after vandals wrecked a memorial bench dedicated to her late husband.

Music teacher Sarah Pargeter, 40, bought the seat after her husband Alan died of cancer.

The bench had sat at the side of Steyning cricket ground until it was targeted by vandals who snapped off its wooden arms.

Mrs Pargeter, of Hills Road, Steyning, was told about the damage by a friend at the cricket club and decided to remove the bench until it was repaired.

She said: "When I saw what had happened, I felt very sad because Alan was so popular.

"He had done a lot of work with teenagers in the community. He would be the first person to understand that children who are bored can get into trouble.

"He would probably be quite sympathetic about it."

Mr Pargeter, an agricultural lecturer at Brinsbury agricultural college in Pulborough, had battled with cancer for six years. He died in August 2001 aged 42.

Mourners at his funeral at St Andrew's Church in Steyning donated £3,000 for the Chestnut Tree House children's hospice and University College, London, where Mr Pargeter was treated.

Mrs Pargeter paid the £500 cost of the wooden bench.

She said her husband, a keen cricketer and footballer who played for local teams in Brinsbury and Washington, had asked for his ashes to be scattered on the cricket ground.

The bench acted as a permanent memorial for her and her two children, Thom, 15, and Laura, 13.

She said: "It was his favourite place to sit and the view was fantastic. When the end came near, he asked for his ashes to be scattered over the field. We did that and kept some in two pots which sit outside the house. Now the bench is next to them.

"It makes me feel particularly sad for the children. I am an adult and I know these things happen but my children were shocked."

She said the bench had helped family and friends come to terms with her husband's death.

She said: "It has been there for a couple of years and everyone lent a hand. My husband's best friend, Kevin Frankling, varnished it for me one year and my friend Julie and I did it together another year. It has been a joint effort by everyone."

After the damage Mr Frankling and his son helped Mrs Pargeter dig the bench out of its concrete base and take it back to her house.

Mark Rendall, a carpenter and friend of the family, has promised to help repair it.

Mrs Pargeter said: "If we think we can save the bench he is going to help repair it. If not, we will have to go back to the drawing board and think again."

Since her husband's death Mrs Pargeter has started playing cricket at the club where the couple had been members for several years.

She said: "Alan loved cricket and football and was lucky enough to play right up until he died. I think he would find it very amusing to see me playing."

The vandalism has been reported to the parish council and Mrs Pargeter said she would report the damage to Sussex Police.