by ANDY EDGEWORTH A WIDOWER is to honour the memory of his late wife by hosting a memorial ball.

Neil Jurd, of Grange-over-Sands, is putting on the black tie event at The Netherwood Hotel to raise money for charity in memory of his wife Michelle, who died in a road accident in November last year.

Mrs Jurd – a 41 year old mother of two - died after the Citroen car she was driving was in collision with a lorry driven by a local man on the A590 at Gilpin Bridge.

The incident prompted South Lakeland councillors and residents to call for extra safety measures on the busy road.

The former RAF pilot served in Kosovo, Iraq and Northern Ireland and Mr Jurd, who also served in the armed forces, wants to raise money for The Gurkha Welfare Trust, RAF Benevolent Fund and Grange School.

Mrs Jurd studied biology at Nottingham University and then gained entry into the RAF College, Cranwell, where she trained to be an officer and became the first woman to qualify as a navigator on Puma aircraft.

She had a successful career, rising to the rank of Squad-ron Leader.

She had been married to her husband Neil for 13 years after meeting him on operational service in Belize in 1993, where he was a serving Army officer.

Mrs Jurd landed fighting troops deep into enemy areas in Iraq and Kosovo and while in Iraq her commanding officer was hugely impressed by her bravery when, in a sandstorm, she led an opera-tion into enemy territory to recover stranded soldiers.

She also spent two years working as a navigation inst-ructor for officers learning to fly Puma helicopters.

After the birth of her daughter Matilda, Michelle left the RAF to concentrate on bringing up her family, and in 2008 the family moved to Grange-over-Sands.

The Michelle Jurd Memorial Dinner and Ball will take place at the Netherwood Hotel, Grange, on Saturday November 20 at 7.30pm. For more information and tickets, call Mr Jurd on (015395) 32345.