Haunting final text from British grandad, 68, he sent just one hour before dying in tragic car crash on holiday in Thailand
Ralph Chambers sent the heartbreaking message just before a car mounted the pavement and crashed into the bar where he was sitting in Chonburi
A GRANDDAD sent a final text to his daughter saying "tell the grandkids I love them" just an hour before he tragically died in a freak accident in Thailand.
Ralph Chambers, 68, who has four grandchildren, sent the message whilst enjoying a pint with friend Tony Walden in a pub in the Chonburi district on December 28.
But just an hour later a car mounted the kerb and smashed into the bar, killing Ralph and seriously injuring Tony - just moments after they had swapped seats.
Tony is still recovering in hospital after the accident, caused by a young Thai driver who swerved to avoid a dog but drove the vehicle into the bar.
The driver's family are visiting Tony in hospital every day.
Ralph's devastated daughter Laura, 36, said: "He texted me an hour before and said 'Tell the grandkids I love them."
Laura, who has kids Lily, eight, Lucas, six and 10-week-old Leo, is heartbroken her dad, of Brockworth, Gloucestershire, died just one month before her wedding - and now won't be there to walk her down the aisle.
Laura, a teacher from Quedgelyey, Gloucestershire, has been planning her dream wedding in Mauritius to partner Oliver Snowdon, a Royal Marine and will still go ahead with the ceremony, scattering Ralph's ashes in the sea.
Her sister Rae, 42, added: "Dad was a man that you couldn't help liking - he had a way of making a person feel like they were the only one in a crowd - he made you feel so special.
"He was funny. I still use his mushroom joke (why am I cooking mushrooms in the grill? Well because there's not mushroom in the pan) then he would crack up and say 'It's the way I tell 'em!'
"My son, Julio, shakes his head every time I say it but I guarantee he will be saying it to his kids. I already feel lost without him and would give the earth to have him back."
Ralph's funeral will be held in his hometown of Doncaster when his family can repatriate his body.
A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, who help families deal with deaths abroad, said: "We are providing support to the family of a British man who sadly died in Thailand and remain in contact with the local Thai authorities."
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