Phil Spencer's heartbreaking act after his parents were killed in horror crash
Property expert Phil Spencer honoured his late parents with a touching gesture following their sudden death last month - and has now returned to his filming duties. The Location, Location, Location presenter sadly lost both his parents, Anne, 82, and David, 89, after their car landed upside down in a river after careening over a bridge.
The elderly couple had been on the way to a pub lunch and it's understood that the tragic accident took place on their family estate, Lower Garrington Farm, in Littlebourne, near Canterbury, Kent. The couple, who had four children and eight grandchildren, had been married for nearly 60 years, and their loved ones have taken some comfort in knowing that "neither will ever have to mourn the loss of the other one."
Phil Spencer's beloved parents (philspencertv/Instagram)Describing Phil as "stoic and pragmatic" during an episode of the BBC's Newscast podcast, co-presenter Kirstie Allsopp revealed that the Spencer family paid tribute to their parents in a touching way. Kirstie said: "[Phil's] got a lovely, lovely family and they're very, very close and they're all together.
"In fact, his sister was married yesterday, which they went ahead with and today they're all going to the pub for lunch. The same pub that his parents were on the way to when they died. He's very stoical and pragmatic, and he feels very strongly that it was the right thing that his parents went together."
David and Anne first locked eyes at a New Year's Eve party in Canterbury in the early 1960s and tied the knot at Canterbury Cathedral on November 4, 1964. David studied engineering at Loughborough University, and after working in finance in London for a while, decided to opt for a different life altogether, buying Upper Garrington Farm.
TV star Phil Spencer’s parents killed in car crash on family farm
In recent years, David was living with dementia, while Anne suffered from mild Parkinson’s disease. The couple continued to enjoy village life in their late years, however, and were both dedicated supporters of Littlebourne's St Vincent's Church. David had also been president of Littlebourne Scouts, while Anne had only recently given up her passion for riding horses following a fall.
In a heartbreaking Instagram post announcing the death of his parents, dated August 20, Phil wrote: "Very sadly both of my amazing parents died on Friday. As a family we are all trying to hold onto 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), Mum's Parkinson's and Dad's 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. That was what God had planned for them - and it was a good plan.
"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."
Bereaved Phil went on to share that his parents' carer had been in the car at the time but had managed to escape through a back window, raising the alarm quickly. His brother had tried in vain to rescue their parents, cutting their seatbelts with a penknife and pulling them both out of the river, however, they "never regained consciousness".
He added: "Although desperately sad and shocked beyond all belief - all family are clear that if there can ever be such a thing as having a 'good end' - this was it. It feels horrendous right now, but after almost 60 years of marriage - to die together on the farm they so loved will, I know, be a comfort in the future. Mum [and] Dad are together which is precisely where they would have wanted to be."
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