Location Location Location star Phil Spencer has been rocked by the tragic deaths of both his parents in a freak car crash on the farm he grew up on.
Both his father Richard, 89, and mother Anne, 82, died on Friday when their car fell into a shallow river that flows through their estate in Littlebourne, near Canterbury, Kent.
The pair had been on the way to their local pub.
The presenter revealed his brother had cut them out of their seatbelts before they were rushed to hospital.
Another woman in her 60s suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
On Instagram, Spencer, 53, said: “Very sadly both of my amazing parents died on Friday.
“As a family we are all trying to hold on to the fact Mum and Dad went together and that neither will ever have to mourn the loss of the other one. Which is a blessing in itself.
“Although they were both on extremely good form in the days before (hence the sudden idea to go out to lunch), Mums Parkinson’s and Dads Dementia had been worsening and the long term future was set to be a challenge.
“So much so that Mum said to me only a week ago that she had resigned to thinking ‘now it looks like we will probably go together’. And so they did.”
Spencer said the accident is “what God had planned for them” so the couple could stay together after six decades of marriage and four children.
Describing the moments before the accident, he wrote: “The car, going very slowly, toppled over a bridge on the farm drive, upside down into the river.
“There were no physical injuries and I very much doubt they would have even fought it – they would have held hands under the water and quietly slipped away.
“Their carer was in the car and managed to climb out of a back window so the alarm was raised quite quickly.
“As many farmers do, my brother had a penknife and so was able to cut the seat belts. He pulled them out of the river but they never regained consciousness.”
His close friend and co-presenter Kirstie Allsopp told The Sun that she had spoken to Phil about the tragedy.
My Mum, my favourite place & my favourite poem - a special family day in Polzeath!! pic.twitter.com/SvFrvLWWFK
— Phil Spencer (@PhilSpencerTV) May 29, 2017
Kirstie said: “His parents were together and that’s something that is a great source of solace to them all.
“They were on their way to the pub on a Friday afternoon in Kent, where they lived — they were in the place they loved, with the person they loved. They were both people of Christian faith.
“Phil and his siblings are all consoling each other at this difficult time.”
A local told the paper the tragedy happened by a small stone bridge - which some neighbours considered dangerous.
A Kent Police spokesperson said: “Officers attended along with other emergency services and a man and woman in their 80s were taken to a local hospital where they were later pronounced deceased.
“A third person, a woman in her 60s, was in the vehicle and sustained minor injuries. The next of kin has been informed and a report will now be prepared for the coroner.”
Three fire engines and a water rescue unit spent two hours removing the vehicle from the river. It remains unclear who was driving at the time of the accident.
