KAY Parncutt was slowly coming to terms with her husband Richard's death and after a year was getting her life back on track.

Then she was stunned to receive a letter stating her widow's allowance was to expire after a year. What a bizarre system one that implies that the correct amount of time to grieve is 12 months.

Or, alternatively, that a widow or widower needs only 12 months of support from the Government before the benefit is retracted. We applaud Mrs Parncutt's desire to let more people know about this situation before they find themselves in it and hope it helps her recover after her husband's passing away.

Most people realise, even if the Government doesn't, that it takes more than a year.