A British man whose wife and 12 friends and neighbours are feared to have been killed in the Spanish wildfires has told how he became separated from them as the flames raced towards his home.

Malcolm Timbrell, 70, and his wife Annette Kilgore, 69, lived in the village of Bédar, in Almeria province, which was consumed by flames last Thursday evening, leaving 13 people dead.

The devastated survivor spoke to the BBC outside his destroyed home high on the hillside.

“You’d never imagine it could happen,” he said. “And when it does, and you’re the only survivor, then you’re left in a situation of, ‘What can I do?'”

He and Annette had found their property when they appeared on the Channel 4 programme A Place in the Sun.

“She was such a happy, outgoing person,” Malcolm said of his partner of 17 years. “We have had an amazing life together – and now it’s stopped.”

Thursday’s wildfire is among the deadliest in Spanish history. It spread quickly, tearing through Bédar, leaving Malcolm, Annette and their friends having to make the quick decision to flee.

As the flames – aided by strong winds – neared their property on Thursday, the couple and their neighbours decided to try escape by car.