War veteran Ken Benbow: 'I felt like I'd got my wife back'

A D-Day veteran said he felt like "he had got his wife back" when he was given a cushion with her face on it.

Ken Benbow, who was married to Ada for 71 years, was moved to tears when his carer Kia Tobin, 17, surprised him with the thoughtful gift.

The 94-year-old had been sleeping with a photograph of Ada by his bed at his Preston care home.

His emotional reaction to the gift was captured on camera and the video has since gone viral.

"I'd lost my darling wife but I felt like I'd got her back," said Mr Benbow, who served in the navy during World War Two.

Ms Tobin, who has moved into Thistleton Lodge Care Home amid the coronavirus pandemic, decided she wanted to surprise the 94-year-old, as she knew how much he missed his wife following her death in August 2019.

"In times like this, we're living in the house so we've had to pull together as a family because they haven't got their other family members to come and see them," she said.

"We all call him granddad," she added.

Ms Tobin, who has worked at the care home since last year, has lived with her grandparents Linda and George Parkes since she was six years old.

While they were touched by her sweet gesture, they said they were not surprised.

"She does give a lot of compassion for her age but I have to remember she's only 17," said Mrs Parkes.

"We're so proud of her."