Club thieves halt father’s golf tribute to soldier

A golfer was prevented from playing a tournament in memory of his soldier son, who was killed in Afghanistan, after thieves took his clubs.

Mark Shelton was due to take to the links for the Adrian Shelton Memorial day at Brierley Golf Club, Notts. But as he went to collect his clubs at home in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Notts, he found they had been stolen.

The tournament is held every year in memory of Rifleman Adrian Shelton, who died aged 25 in Helmand province in 2009. Investigating police officer Paul Bacon said: “The tournament has become a hugely significant event for them each year since Adrian’s death, so the timing could not have been worse.”