The body of 71-year-old mother and grandmother Anne Sutton was found by police when officers were called to her home in Hesketh Lane, Tarleton, near Preston, on Tuesday morning.

Her husband John Sutton, 81, was arrested on suspicion of murder and is being assessed under the Mental Health Act.

The Lancashire Evening Post understands it was Mr Sutton, known as Jack, who called police to the scene at 10am on Tuesday.

A post-mortem examination has revealed the cause of death was strangulation.

The pair had been married for 48 years and were both well-known in the local community through their involvement with the Hesketh Lane Methodist Church, where Anne was a steward.

Rev Kevin Jones, minister of the methodist churches in the area, said: "Anne was a gentle, kind and genuinely welcoming woman with a quiet nature and a warm smile.

"She had a strong Christian faith and raised her family in the church just yards from their door. Her gentleness was evident to all and she was the kind of person it was a pleasure to be with.

"The family are deeply saddened and seeking to come to terms with the sudden death of a loved mother and grandmother. They are all helping the police as much as possible in order to establish the precise circumstances surrounding her death.

"Jack, who has been ill for some time following a stroke, is still being interviewed by the police concerning her death. Because of this the family are concerned - not only about the death of Anne - but also deeply concerned for Jack."

County councillor Malcolm Barron, who lives in Tarleton, said: "I am very shocked. You don't expect this sort of thing in Tarleton. Last week we had the stabbing and now this. And Hesketh Lane is not exactly a crime area."

A woman who knows the Sutton family, who did not wish to be named, said: "It's a good few years since I saw Jack. When I last saw them, they were going on a cruise on The Carousel - round the Caribbean.

"Jack's work was with market gardens. He grew new potatoes and I think his son runs the nursery at the back of their house."

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