THE husband of a popular teacher who died from advanced motor neurone disease has paid tribute to his wife and the carers who enabled her to maintain dignity and courage until the end.

Heather Castle, of Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, was a married mother-of-two and grandmother to twin boys whose family and former school colleagues and pupils adored her.

She taught at the town’s Byerley Park Primary School from 1984 until her retirement in 2002, where she was known as a dedicated professional who delighted in educating and supporting children.

Mrs Castle had been unwell for 20 months before she was diagnosed with MND in November 2015 and told she may have two to three years to live.

Her husband promised her that day he would care for her at home and says thanks to “incredible support” from many agencies he was able to do that.

He said: “It is a pernicious disease and how she endured it for eight years, with such dignity and serenity is incredible.

“I didn’t just love her, that isn’t enough for me, I respected her and we loved living together so I’d do anything to care for her at home.

“So, so many people helped us including the MND clinic at Newcastle and her nurse Bernadette Chapman, Premier Care, Nightingales Community Healthcare, Durham County Council staff, the Motor Neurone Disease Association, our GP Andrew Clarke and lastly St Theresa’s Hospice in Darlington.”

Mrs Castle had stayed at the hospice for respite and was admitted for what would be her third and final stay when Mr Castle had a heart attack at home on August 24.

He was able to leave hospital to visit her regularly until she passed away there on September 2.

He said: “When I first visited I probably asked some difficult questions, I wanted to make sure they would do the best for Heather.

“But their knowledge and standards of care throughout were fantastic, the staff there are incredible in what they do for end of life care and their other work as well.”

Mrs Castle had been born into a mining family and her parents, especially father Arthur who was a prisoner of war in Austria, were determined she be well educated.

She grew up to be an intelligent young woman, with many talents include sport and art, and with good grades from Durham High School she trained as a teacher in Bedford.

Her first teaching post was at Middlesbrough High School for Girls before she moved to Surrey, where he parents had gone, which is where she met her future husband, Welsh Guardsman Clive.

She taught in Woking – where one of her pupils was signer-songwriter and The Jam frontman Paul Weller who at eight-years-old she described as a musical genius.

The couple had children Justyn and Lucy and settled in Newton Aycliffe.

Mr Castle said: “She was a one-off Heather, nobody held a candle to her.

“She was a wonderful person, adored her family, an excellent teacher, bright and clever, one of the nicest people you could meet.

“I loved her from the day I met her and always will and I’ve had so many cards and nice words said about her she was clearly respected by others too.”