Father's devastation as his four young children die in Land Rover river crash

Nigel Gresham, 36, said he hoped no other parent would have to go through the nightmare he and his partner were enduring.

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Mr Gresham and Sara Bolland, 31, were with all seven of their children when their 4x4 plunged into a 15ftdeep stretch of the River Witham at Tattershall Bridge, Lincolnshire.

Mr Gresham and Miss Bolland got out of the sinking vehicle but were unable to free the youngsters, who were all thought to be wearing seatbelts.

Passing motorist Colin Dunlop, 35, and his brother-in-law Martin Lindley, 41, leapt into the water fully clothed and pulled the children from the vehicle.

All nine family members were taken to hospital after Sunday's drama, but the youngest child, Willow, who was just weeks from her third birthday, died hours later. On Monday her eight-year- old sister Keavy died, and on Tuesday so did four-year-old Angel and her sixyearold brother Thor.

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Mr Gresham and Miss Bolland, of Chapel Hill, Lincolnshire, had to make the heartbreaking decision to turn off the life-support machines of Keavy, Angel and Thor.

Mr Gresham said yesterday: "Each of my children is like a ray of light. Willow used to come and cuddle me in the mornings, and Keavy would cuddle me in the morning and evenings.

"Thor was car-mad. Angel was always reading stories to us to show us how well she could read.

"They were a constant source of amazement and pleasure to us, and so full of life."

The couple and their two oldest children, Liam, 12, and Star, 13, were discharged from hospital on Monday. The third surviving child, Amber, nine, was yesterday in a stable condition at Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Mr Gresham thanked the heroes who pulled his children from the car.

He said: "They might say anyone would have done it but they actually did do it without hesitation. We shall be forever grateful."

The Land Rover is thought to have slipped down the riverbank after squeezing past a minibus towing a trailer of canoes in the opposite direction.

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Lincolnshire police have interviewed the minibus driver and impounded the vehicle.

Mr Gresham-had set up a website devoted to his J-reg Defender 110, which he named 'Yellow 110'.

He wrote: "Land Rovers aren't a vehicle or even a way of life.

"They are a highly infectious disease.

"But that's fine – it's harmless to everything except your pocket.'