'Wonderful' grandparents who were swept away when their car plunged into the River Trent died accidentally, a coroner has ruled.
Patricia and John Lillistone, from Lowdham, drowned after their car entered the water at Hoveringham on the evening of Monday, February 1, last year.
An inquest took place on Thursday (January 27) into the circumstances of what happened on that night.
And Senior Coroner Mairin Casey said the cause of death for the couple was accidental.
“There was no evidence to suggest this was deliberate," she told the inquest at Nottingham Council House.
There were no mechanical failings on the car, the hearing was told.
But it was speculated the wrong pedal could have been mistaken, distance to the water misjudged or the distraction of the river levels could have caused the incident.
Miss Casey described it as “such a rare event”.
The court was told of evidence showing there have been two incidents, including this one, of a car entering the River Trent in Nottinghamshire in the past 10 years.
The bodies of Mr and Mrs Lillistone were found following a two-week search.
In a tribute released through Nottinghamshire Police last year, the couple were described as "loving, caring parents and grandparents who were always there for family and friends".
"Our family is devastated by the loss of two wonderful people and they will be dearly missed by all. We have many happy memories of our time spent together that we will cherish forever," the family said at the time.
During the hearing, Miss Casey quickly ruled out the incident was deliberate and an attempt at suicide.
The car park near to where where the tragedy happened is popular with people enjoying the countryside, anglers and bird watchers, and is usually busy, the hearing was told.
Following the tragedy, highways bosses confirmed an investigation had been launched.
There is already an increase in flood risk signs around the area because of the incident, with higher kerbs set to be installed imminently and barriers have been considered but dismissed.
But son James Lillistone, who lives with wife Angela in Carlton, said during the hearing his personal view was that the measures discussed would not have saved his parents from what happened.
He said his parents were familiar with the area and that they did not suspect there was a danger with flooding.
Mr and Mrs Lillistone lived together in their home in Main Street, Lowdham, and got married in 1960.
Mrs Lillistone, who died at the age of 82, was a retired nurse. While her husband was a retired civil servant and passed away at the age of 83.
They used to enjoy getting out and about and travelling as much as they could, and were at first frustrated at not being able to do what they would normally do due to Covid restrictions.
But they tried very hard to stay active.
Mr Lillistone had a hip replacement and his wife’s short-term memory was getting worse.
Mrs Lillistone was very dependent on Mr Lillistone, and would get confused if they were not together.
Mr Lillistone was driving a Skoda Octavia which entered the river, and there was no evidence of any immediate health deterioration such as a heart attack.
Son James last saw them on January 29 when they met on their drive with James’ children.
The family were described as being very close.
The coroner said that the cause of death was drowning, and that the couple both died on the day of the incident, not at the time their identification was verified by police.
Eye witnesses said the car entered the water shortly after 4pm and emergency services were immediately called.
A number of accounts detailed that an elderly couple in a car went into the car park, not at an excessive speed but quicker than would be expected, but made no attempt to stop entering the water by braking and no attempt was made to get out of the car or call for help.
But Miss Casey ruled out that this was a deliberate act as Stephen Farrell, a forensic collision investigator at Nottinghamshire Police, gave evidence that unexpected events can have an overwhelming effect, and that people respond differently to different situations.
Reaction times behind the wheel because of age were also discussed.
Mr Farrell also agreed that there would have been no more than three or four seconds between the car entering the car park, and then the river.
Mr Farrell said they were safe until the car entered the water but, from there, there was very little they could do.
Miss Casey also said that the couple had not prepared anything for them to end their lives around the home, and there was no evidence of any mental health problems.
The hearing was told there have only been two incidents of cars entering the River Trent in the past 10 years in the 170 miles of water in Nottinghamshire, including incidents of near misses.
But to prevent future tragedies, there is already an increased number of signs warning of the potential of flooding in Hoveringham Road.
And in the village, eight-inch kerbs are being introduced in the car park between the asphalt and grass bank by Hoveringham Parish Council.
Barriers were considered, but were deemed not to be appropriate, as it could make more vulnerable road users, such as cyclists and pedestrians, unsafe.
The car park is privately owned, and that along with the surrounding area is used for angling matches by the Midland Angling Society.
In 2019, in the same area, teacher Emma Fegan, 39, who lived in Hoveringham, died after her BMW hit standing water and left the road and went into the River Trent.
At an inquest into her death, the medical cause of death was given as "immersion in water as a result of a single vehicle road traffic accident".
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