AN 80-year-old Dunster man accused of murdering his wife is mentally unfit to stand trial, a judge at Bristol Crown Court decided last Friday.

Judge William Hart ruled that Hugh Webber, accused of killing his 77-year-old wife Angela at their home in the village in October last year, was too ill to take part in proceedings

A trial date has now been set for January 27 when a jury will establish whether Webber was physically able, at the time, to carry out the alleged attack. In the meantime Webber, who was said to suffer from dementia, will remain in hospital.

Webber was arrested at Stag Cottage, St George’s Street, Dunster, the secluded £600,000 period home he had shared with his wife for many years.

The court was told that two psychiatrists had come to the conclusion that Webber would be unable to participate in a trial, instruct a legal team or understand the proceedings.

Andrew Langdon QC, prosecuting, told the court: “This is a very sad case and he is a man who suffers from organic delusional disorder and dementia.

“According to psychiatrists it is a condition that unhappily he is not expected to recover from and indeed the prognosis is that his condition will unfortunately deteriorate.”

Judge Hart said: “This is a tragic case and he is unlikely to change, save for the worse. There is only one possible conclusion one can come to in the light of the psychiatric evidence, and I find the defendant is unfit to stand his trial for the reasons outlined.”

At a previous hearing at Taunton Crown Court, it was said that Mrs Webber, a former parish councillor and well-known for her community and charity work, suffered stab wounds to her upper body.

She was declared dead at the scene after police and paramedics responded to a 999 call at around 3am on Thursday, October 29.

At a hearing before two magistrates two days later, it was alleged that Webber murdered his wife by stabbing her. He made no plea and when asked for his address, said: “At the moment I have not got one.”

In June, police successfully applied for an extension of the time Webber could be held in custody when he appeared at Bristol Crown Court by video link from hospital. No plea was entered to the charge and it was said that a full trial would be held later.

Tributes were paid in Dunster to one of the village’s most popular residents and Anne Miles, a long-time friend who spoke at Mrs Webber’s funeral, said that she was “a sweet person who is still sadly missed.”

Dunster county councillor Christine Lawrence said Mrs Webber was “a lovely person who did a tremendous amount for the village. We worked together on Dunster parish council for many years. She loved helping people and was involved in pretty well everything that happened in the village.”