A GRIEVING daughter is trying to trace a £500 headstone after the sudden closure of the shop that made it.

"Everything that was in the shop, including my father's stone, had gone," she said.

Mrs Haworth, 45, of Willows Lane, Bolton had ordered the headstone to be set on her father's grave in Heaton Cemetery, before relatives arrived in Bolton from Canada.

"I had paid the full cost of the headstone, almost £500, but when I went to make the arrangements the shop was closed."

Mrs Haworth has tried to make contact with other premises used by The Stone Shop, but to no avail.

"There are three other shops but they seem to have closed down too."

Mrs Haworth had the words "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away" inscribed on the stone. I just want to appeal to the owner of the firm to let me have the headstone. It isn't any good to anyone else.

"I feel absolutely devastated by this."

Mrs Haworth's father, Thomas Curley, died in December last year, aged 75.

"His brother came over from Canada to see the grave but was not able to see the headstone, which he was very disappointed about."

Mrs Haworth was Mr Curley's only child. "Now I am going to have to save up again for another headstone. This is terrible," she said.

Mrs Haworth said she was told the shop was run by a man who was also a director of a companmy called Piccioni Limited. Liquidators' Casson Beckman and Partners, based in the Midlands, confirmed that Piccioni had gone into liquidation.

A spokesman for the liquidators said he understood there was a connection between The Stone Shops and Piccioni, but said he was unaware that the stonemasonry shops had closed.

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