THE mother of a young woman killed in a tragic car accident last year has spoken of her anguish after a teddy bear and flowers she laid in memory of her were stolen.

Jessica White, 23, a former Somerset College pupil from Ilminster, died on April 18 last year from injuries after the car she was driving crashed into a wall on Wellington Road in Taunton.

Jessica's mum Sharon, her family and some of Jessica's friends laid a teddy bear and flowers at the site near Somerset College on Thursday, April 2.

But by midday on Good Friday, the items had gone.

Sharon says a woman was seen walking away with the items and she has pleaded with her to return them.

Sharon said: “Jessica died on Good Friday last year and so we decided that we would put the teddy and some flowers down the night before.

“On Friday, one of Jess's friends went down and then returned at lunchtime and the teddy was gone.

“Someone nearby had said that they had seen a woman walking away with the teddy.”

Sharon added that it was unlikely that it had been removed by accident.

“It wasn't like the teddy was on its own, it was sealed in a vacuum pack with cards and flowers so it was quite obvious why it was there and what it was for,” she said.

“One of Jess's friends had bought the teddy when she died last year and put it at the scene of the accident so it might not mean a lot to anyone else but it really meant a lot to my family and to Jess' friends and now we don't even have that.”

If anyone has any information about the teddy or has the teddy and would like to return it, they can get in contact with Sharon by emailing sharonstaple241@btinternet.com Sharon will be doing a sponsored swim on April 18 in memory of Jessica.