Briton tells of surviving Spain wildfire in car as wife and friends died trying to walk to safety

ByNick Beake

Europe Correspondent successful Bédar, south-eastern Spain

A British antheral whose woman and 12 friends and neighbours are feared to person been killed successful the Spanish wildfires has told the BBC however helium became separated from them arsenic the flames raced towards his home.

Malcolm Timbrell, 70, and his woman Annette Kilgore, 69, lived successful the colony of Bédar, successful Almeria province, which was consumed by flames past Thursday evening, leaving 13 radical dead.

I recovered the devastated subsister extracurricular his destroyed location precocious successful the hillside.

"You'd ne'er ideate it could happen," helium said. "And erstwhile it does, and you're the lone survivor, past you're near successful a concern of, 'What tin I do?'"

He and Annette had recovered their spot erstwhile they appeared connected the Channel 4 programme A Place successful the Sun.

"She was specified a happy, outgoing person," Malcolm said of his spouse of 17 years. "We person had an astonishing beingness unneurotic - and present it's stopped."

Thursday's wildfire is among the deadliest successful Spanish history. It dispersed quickly, tearing done Bédar, leaving Malcolm, Annette and their friends having to marque the speedy determination to flee.

As the flames - aided by beardown winds - neared their spot connected Thursday, the mates and their neighbours decided to effort flight by car.

But Malcolm chose to caput backmost to their location for their cats, Charlie and Lilly.

"If we'd person done the sensible happening and gone the different mode and fto our cats die, we some would beryllium alive. But erstwhile you've got animals, you don't deliberation similar that."

With some cats secured, Malcolm says helium attempted to drawback up with the radical - but saw they were present retired of their vehicles.

"My woman and our different 7 friends and neighbours - against maine screaming astatine them not to - decided the lone harmless mode was to locomotion retired successful beforehand of the firewall.

"I've subsequently heard that that occurrence partition was moving astatine 20 kilometres per hour, plus. They had nary chance."

Finding himself connected his ain successful the chaotic situation, Malcolm said helium attempted to instrumentality refuge successful the now-abandoned cars: "Of the six cars, 4 of them instantly combusted and arsenic each 1 started to go, I moved backmost 1 car.

"For immoderate crushed of fate, the past 2 cars, though very, precise severely singed and overgarment bubbled and burnt, survived.

"And I survived wrong the past 1 with a cat."

The flames yet passed by and Malcolm was rescued by exigency workers.

However the bodies of 8 radical were subsequently discovered connected a way down from the couple's house.

There are inactive 4 ample scorch marks wherever 4 vehicles were discovered burnt out.

Local authorities person said 4 much victims of the fire, recovered successful a close manus thrust vehicle, were thought to beryllium British.

Not each of those killed successful the wildfire person yet been identified, but Spanish authorities person said that 3 Britons and 1 nationalist each from France, Belgium and Spain were among the victims.

One of them was a 93-year-old woman, believed to beryllium British, who died of her injuries successful infirmary connected Sunday.

Many British expats successful the colony of Bedar person criticised the deficiency of a mobile telephone alert - but Malcolm did not privation to apportion blame.

Local authorities "didn't person clip to get the seaplanes present earlier dark," helium said, adding: "The helicopters couldn't get up due to the fact that of the smoke."

With precocious winds, adust onshore and soaring temperatures, Malcolm believed determination could not person been a worse combination.

"It's nobody's fault. Nobody tin beryllium blamed for this."

Malcolm says helium has been overwhelmed by the enactment of friends of each nationalities.

He and Annette moved to Spain aft galore years sailing together. They had each antecedently mislaid their partners to terminal illnesses and shared a emotion of question and making caller friends.

The mates had hoped to unrecorded retired their last years unneurotic successful the tranquillity of the Andalusian countryside.

"There's conscionable that small spark of hope, adjacent though I cognize a assemblage has been recovered clutching a cat. Hard acold facts are pointing to the bodies they've found."

Malcolm said the section constabulary person besides been a immense assistance and person been keeping him up to day with their work.

But helium fears what volition hap successful the coming days arsenic his the magnitude of his nonaccomplishment hits him.

"So we are conscionable waiting present for DNA clarification. And aft that, I volition astir apt conscionable autumn apart."