British woman who found home on A Place in the Sun feared dead in Spanish wildfires
A British man whose wife is believed to be one of many killed in Spanish wildfires has spoken out about his ordeal.
Spain's Almeria region is currently battling intense wildfires, which are understood to have killed at least 13 people and displaced many more.
One man who found himself caught up in the devastation is Malcolm Timbrell, who fears that his wife Annette Kilgore may have perished as the blaze ripped through the mountainous village of Bédar.
During an interview with the BBC, the 70-year-old explained that he'd survived after taking shelter in a car with one of their cats, while Annette and several other neighbours attempted to flee on foot.
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"My wife and our other seven friends and neighbours - against me screaming at them not to - decided the only safe way was to walk out in front of the firewall," he explained.
"I've subsequently heard that that firewall was moving at 20 kilometres per hour, plus. They had no chance."
As the flames raced towards their hilltop home, Malcolm, Annette and their friends made the split-second decision to flee for their lives, a plan which changed when Malcolm decided to go back and grab the couple's cats.
After securing the pets, Malcolm returned to the cars, only to find the group was outside of the cars and attempting to flee on foot.
"If we'd have done the sensible thing and gone the other way and let our cats die, we both would be alive," he said.
"But when you've got animals, you don't think like that."
Separated from the group, Malcolm took shelter in the group's abandoned cars. While four out of the six instantly combusted from the flames, Malcolm was fortunate enough to have hidden in the last one with one of his cats, allowing him to survive.
"You'd never imagine it could happen," he added. "And when it does, and you're the only survivor, then you're left in a situation of, 'What can I do?'"
Malcolm and Annette's A Place in the Sun dream
Malcolm and Annette had previously appeared on Channel 4's A Place in the Sun, where they found their Bédar home.
"She was such a happy, outgoing person," Malcolm said of Annette, whom he'd been with for 17 years. "We have had an amazing life together - and now it's stopped."
Annette isn't the only British national feared to have died in the wildfires ravaging across Almeria province, with couple Pete and Fran Gillam confirmed to have perished in the Bédar blaze.
"We are heartbroken to share that we have received confirmation from the police that Mum and Dad did not survive the fire. Thank you for all your love, support and prayers over the past few days," the couple's daughter, Danielle Gillam-Kirton. wrote on Facebook.
"They have meant more to us than we can ever express."
A 93-year-old woman also passed away in hospital from injuries sustained from the fires, days after being rescued by authorities.
Meanwhile, five Brits, three Belgians nationals, a French woman and a Spanish man have all been confirmed to have died, according to a report from The Guardian.
Eight bodies have since been recovered from a path close to where Malcolm was rescued by emergency workers, with the devastated husband now waiting to hear the results of DNA identification.
"And after that, I will probably just fall apart," he added.
Topics: UK News, Environment
Brenna Cooper