A pensioner has paid tribute to his “soulmate” after she died in a skiing accident.

Barry Philpott and his partner of 15 years, former Maidstone resident Jackie Read, were enjoying their final day in Flaine, a ski resort in France where they had worked for two years, when she was killed.

The pair had stopped on the side of the mountain for a rest when a snowboarder collided with Miss Read, 54, sending her flying down the slope.

Mr Philpott, 71, who is staying with his daughter-in-law Nicola in Merton Road, Bearsted, said: “All I heard was a shout. Next thing I knew she was 20 yards down the slope. She broke her spine in about four places. She died instantly.

“She was a superb person. Skiing was her only hobby. Jackie was a lot better than me, she’d been skiing for years.

“We used to do everything together, we were soulmates. We were going to go to Australia in September to get married. My son Ian lives out there and we’ve been two or three times.

“The kids have really been there for me. If it wasn’t for them I couldn’t keep going. I’ll never forget her.”

“She was a superb person. Skiing was her only hobby" - Barry Philpott

The couple, who lived on the Isle of Sheppey before moving to France, were running catered chalets for the Ski Club of Great Britain.

They are both from Yorkshire but met 30 years ago when she started working at a restaurant the retired builder constructed in Tenerife.

Fifteen years later they became a couple and spent years travelling and working abroad, mainly in France and Spain.

It took almost two weeks for the family to get Miss Read’s body back to England after her death on Wednesday, April 20. About 100 people attended her funeral at Vinters Park Crematorium, Bearsted Road, on Tuesday.

She leaves five children and one grandchild while Mr Philpott has two children and four grandchildren.