Phil Spencer in tears as he opens up over parents’ tragic car crash death

Phil Spencer broke down in tears as he opened up about the tragic loss of his parents earlier this year, due to a car accident.[1][2] His mum Anne, 82, and dad Richard, 89, sadly passed away in August when their car plunged into a river[3] in Kent on their way to lunch. Phil released a heartfelt statement at the time, saying that his family was "holding onto the fact mum and dad went together" and it was some comfort to know "neither will ever have to mourn the loss of the other one".

He also thanked people for their support, saying: "I feel a lot of gratitude to people for the thousands of kind, supportive messages I got. The whole thing was overwhelming, but that blew me away. People were very loving and thoughtful."

Phil chatted about the incident to the Daily Mail[4] alongside his Location, Location, Location co-star Kirstie Allsopp, who also spoke fondly of Phil's parents, having known them for a long time. However, at one point during their joint interview, 52 year old Kirstie was forced to cut the conversation short, noticing that Phil was crying.

The outlet reported that Kirstie "stopped" talking after hearing "a quiet sound of distress from beside her" and "seeing tears".

She told Phil: "Oh sorry. Sorry, love." Phil shared his feelings about the statement he released in August, saying he thought posting it on social media would "avoid the trauma of explaining it all".

He had written: "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) 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. 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. "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. 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." Phil shared: "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."

On a tragic day in August, the Spencers' car veered off the road into a shallow river running through their estate in Littlebourne (Image: INSTAGRAM)

On a tragic day in August, the Spencers' car veered off the road into a shallow river running through their estate in Littlebourne, near Canterbury, Kent. The couple were rescued from the car and rushed to hospital. Richard was in the front passenger seat of the car, and their carer was in the back.

The inquest into Anne's death revealed that as the car neared the bridge, it slipped off the edge and flipped over. All three passengers were submerged in three feet of water. Richard and Anne were underwater for about 20 minutes before paramedics took them to the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother hospital in Margate, Kent.

Inquests found that Anne died of a lung infection and brain injury while Phil's dad succumbed to a lung injury. * This article was crafted with the help of an AI engine, which speeds up OK!'s editorial research and applies it to article templates created by journalists in our newsrooms. An OK! editor reviewed this content before it was published.

You can report any errors to [email protected][5]

References

1. ^ Phil Spencer (www.ok.co.uk)
2. ^ parents earlier this year, due to a car accident. (www.ok.co.uk)
3. ^ His mum Anne, 82, and dad Richard, 89, sadly passed away in August when their car plunged into a river (www.ok.co.uk)
4. ^ Daily Mail (www.dailymail.co.uk)
5. ^ [email protected] (www.ok.co.uk)