Husband tribute to Rickinghall great grandmother killed in Diss accident | Latest Norfolk and Suffolk News

Floral tributes laid at the junction in Diss where Maureen Self died after being hit by a postal lorry. Picture: Simon Parkin

Maureen Self, 75, had been shopping and paying a regular visit to church when she died in an accident involving a Royal Mail vehicle at the junction of Mere Street and Victoria Road on July 16.

Despite being treated by paramedics following the accident, an inquest heard Mrs Self, who had been walking with her shopping trolley, died at the scene from multiple injuries.

Her husband David Self, 81, who is known locally as John, said: “It’s horrendous and very sad. The loss has been a very difficult time for us all.

David Self, known locally as John, who has paid tribute to his wife of 52 years, Maureen, who died in an accident in Diss. Picture: Simon Parkin

“Someone told me it was a woman driving the lorry. I don’t know if it was a young lass but I don’t blame her. It has got to have been a shock to her as well.”

Mrs Self had been well known in Rickinghall and loved life in the cottage on Water Lane where they lived together for over 50 years, he said.

The couple have three daughters, Julie, Karen and Heather, and two sons, Andrew and Michael, as well as a grandchild and two great grandchildren.

Police collision investigators at the scene of the postal lorry accident in Diss in which Maureen Self died. Picture: Simon Parkin

“We married in 1967 and she had lived here ever since,” said Mr Self. “She used to love gardening. She would spend hours and hours out here, planting and looking after her flowers. She also loved her animals. We had a very happy life together.”

Mrs Self had been involved in St Mary’s Church in Rickinghall for many years, serving on the parish pastoral council and as verger.

Her husband said: “She had great faith and always has had ever since I first met her and spent a lot of time going to the church.

Maureen Self, who died in an accident in Diss, was a regular workshipper and involved in the running of St Mary’s Church in Rickinghall. Picture: Simon Parkin

“She just loved living in the village and everyone knew her. She was so well known that even people who knew her from the bus going to Diss were asking where she was when she didn’t turn up that Friday after she’d lost her life.

“She used to go to Diss every Tuesday and Friday, she did that so regularly you could set your clock to it. She would do her shopping but she would also go to a church in Diss that you could go in to have a cup of tea and a chat. She loved going and she knew a lot of people there. That is the sort of life she lived.”