MEMBERS of a Wyre Forest social group for older people are devastated by the murder of their bright, respected and good-humoured friend Betty Yates.

Angela Brockway attended the University of the Third Age (U3A) book club, which was hosted monthly by Mrs Yates, at the cottage where she was stabbed off Dowles Road in Bewdley.

She said Mrs Yates had made her feel like family during their three-and-a-half year friendship. She added: “I am so very, very devastated, as everyone is, about her horrendous death. I feel I have lost a very dear relative and friend – she made everyone feel important.

“She had a super sense of humour and was so very bright and on the ball.

“She respected everyone’s opinion and gave them her time and yet she was a spirited person and had a way with words and didn’t stand back in giving her honest opinion on all manner of things.

“She hosted the book club with respect for everyone and informality – that is one of the reasons it was succesful and we all became friends, sitting round her lovely big table in her conservatory with mugs of tea and coffee and piles of biscuits.

“In the summer, she put table and chairs in the garden, which we loved, but it was remote. Lovely for a visit. I will miss her so much.”

In a statement from the committee of Wyre Forest and District U3A, chairman David Struckett said: “Betty Yates was a much-respected and loved member of several groups within our U3A, and members were very shocked and saddened as the news unfurled last week of her murder. She hosted a book reading group in her home and attended walks and art sessions with other members.“She will be sadly missed but the shock of the manner of her death is of concern to us all.

“We sincerely hope that the police investigation will gain some success but, meanwhile, our heartfelt sympathy and support goes to members of her family and closer friends at this time.”