The son of a Second World War veteran who died in a house fire has spoken of his grief and disbelief at his father's death.
Phil Porter, who lives in Snakes Hill, last saw his 90-year-old father Harold, known as Boysie, the night before the fatal fire on November 4 when he spent an hour and a half with him chatting at his home.
An inquest has heard how the blaze that killed a 90-year-old war veteran probably started from an electric fire left too near a chair in a downstairs living room. The 66-year-old, who took over Mr Porter's tree surgery business, said the family went through a difficult time when his mother left Boysie for a window cleaner.Phil was just nine years old at the time.
After spending several years in care, Phil said his father was ultimately there to look after him in later life.
Phil, who is married to Pamela, 65, said, "I couldn't believe he was dead.
"I was talking to him for an hour-and-a-half the previous night.
"I used to see him every day I used to be able to pop in at all times of the day.
"He meant the world to me.
"He was not just a father, he was my mother and a friend too.
"I even took over his tree surgeon business."
He added: "We sometimes had different opinions but we always got on well together."
Phil admitted he has struggled to cope with his loss and said he had returned to the house, sometimes in the middle of the night, in the days after the tragedy.
The pair often talked about Boysie's wartime experiences – stories which Phil said were not always appreciated by his siblings.
Phil said: "My sister said that his wartime experiences were all he talked about but that was important to him. People complained that all he wanted to do is talk about the past but his response to that was he couldn't talk about the future, it isn't there.
"He had a wicked sense of humour – he had his wits. He was sharp and he could remember everything but the one thing he would not talk about was Burma. At least I've got his medals."
