THE wife of North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson has been found dead at their family home, the MP has said.

In a statement, Mr Paterson said the loss of his wife, Rose, had come as a "terrible shock" to the family.

"It is with great sadness that I must inform you that my wife, Rose, has been found dead at our family home in Shropshire," he said.

"Rose and I were married for 40 happy years. She was a wonderful, caring wife, mother and grandmother.

"Her death has come as a terrible shock to us all. I would ask the media to respect the privacy of myself and my family at this extremely difficult time."

The couple married in 1980 and had two sons and a daughter.

Mrs Paterson, the daughter of the fourth Viscount Ridley, was the chairman of Aintree Racecourse.

Sandy Dudgeon, senior steward of The Jockey Club, paid tribute on Wednesday morning.

The Leader:

She said: “This is tragic news and our thoughts go out to Rose’s husband Owen and all members of her family.

“Rose was a wonderful person and involved in so many aspects of our sport. She was a skilled chairman at Aintree, a valued member of our board of stewards and headed up our Horse Welfare Group.

"She also enjoyed participating at grassroots level over many years.

“We appreciated her contribution very much and my fellow stewards and I looked forward to hearing her sound views on a subject, where she was always sensitive to the best course of action for racing.

"She will be missed greatly for the person she was."