An elderly couple who had been married for more than 50 years stepped in front of a speeding freight train just minutes after a row with their 50-year-old daughter, an inquest heard. Peter Smith, 80, and his wife Betty, 78, walked a short distance from their bungalow in the picturesque Lincolnshire village of Cherry Willingham, to the unmanned crossing on July 9 last year. Less than half an hour earlier, Mrs Smith and her only child, Jane, who had recently moved back in with her parents, had an disagreement over where she was keeping her belongings. Tragic: Peter Smith, 80, and his wife Betty, 78, walked a short distance from their bungalow in the picturesque Lincolnshire village of Cherry Willingham, to the unmanned crossing, pictured, on July 9 last year . Miss Smith told an inquest that as the couple left the house after the argument, her father turned to her and said: 'Goodbye, you won't see us again'. It was the last time she saw her parents. Yesterday, an inquest into their deaths at Lincoln's Cathedral Centre heard that it had 'not been an easy situation' since Miss Smith and her partner, Tim Evans had moved into the family home. In a statement read to the court, Miss Smith said she and Mr Evans had moved back in two months earlier because there was no running water in their house, The Times has reported. She said that she and her father, a former postmaster, had not had 'the best relationship over the years'. She said: that she and her mother had a disagreement over whether she could store some of her belongings in the spare room. She added: 'Later in the morning my father said that he wanted to go into town. The reason for this was that he wanted to get his glasses altered as they were hurting him. Warning: The inquest heard the couple did not react when the driver of the approaching train sounded his horn. He applied his brakes but was unable to stop in time. Above, the scene where the couple died last year . 'My mother said that she did not want to go but eventually she agreed to accompany him. 'As they left the house my mother walked out with my father behind. 'Once my mother was out of earshot my father turned to me and said "Goodbye, you won't see us again". When my mother got to the gate she turned and waved at me. 'They both then turned and walked out of my sight. That was the last time I saw my parents'. The inquest heard the couple did not react when the driver of the approaching train sounded his horn, according to the Times. He applied his brakes but was unable to stop in time. The couple died almost instantly of multiple injuries. The coroner recorded verdicts of suicide. The inquest heard the couple did not have a history of mental health issues and neither had ever been sectioned under the Mental Health Act. Neighbours of the couple paid tribute to the 'beautiful' and 'devoted' pair who had lived in the village for more than 50 years. Joyce Garner, 94, who lived two doors down from the couple, said: 'I just can't believe it. Probe: Above, police and rail workers at the scene shortly after the couple's deaths last year Neighbours of the couple paid tribute to the 'beautiful' and 'devoted' pair who had lived in the village for more than 50 years. 'Peter had to retire early from his job as a postman more than 20 years ago after a car crash, but Betty was always in the garden and he would try and help where he could.' Margaret Elkington, 81, who lived opposite the couple, added: 'They seemed to be such a happy couple. They would catch the bus into Lincoln every Monday and Saturday. 'They had a daughter but they didn't speak about her very much.'
Peter Smith and his wife Betty stepped in front of speeding freight train . Just minutes earlier, Mrs Smith had argued with their only child, Jane, 50 . Miss Smith and her partner had recently moved back into the family home . Told inquest she and her mother disagreed over where to store belongings . As her parents left home after row, her father said 'you won't see us again'
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