A husband knocked down and killed his wife in a freak car accident.

The man, in his 80s, was driving his car in the well-kept grounds of their block of flats when the car hit his 83-year-old wife.

Paramedics tried to save her but she died at the scene.

Her husband was said to be in severe shock after the tragic accident and was today being offered counselling.

The bizarre incident happened in the smart grounds of Parham Court, where the couple lived, in Grand Avenue, Worthing.

The man was driving up the long drive when the car was somehow in a collision with the wife.

He then appeared to veer off the drive, on to the lawns, leaving a trail of tyre tracks across the grass.

Tyre tracks appeared to swerve across the grass and then back on to the driveway.

Accident investigators were yesterday puzzled as to how the accident happened. A team of police was examining the scene, and the car which came to rest on the drive near the flats, but was still not sure of the sequence of events which led up to the tragedy.

Officers were only able to confirm the husband was driving a Rover car which hit his wife.

Sergeant Sally Arbuckle of Chichester Road Policing Department said: "We still don't know the full facts of what happened and we will be investigating the circumstances."

It happened around 1.10pm on the drive, which runs from Grand Avenue to the rear of the flats.

Residents of Parham Court described hearing a crash but there were no eyewitnesses.

One resident said: "I heard a dull thud, not particularly loud and then an engine whirring but I didn't think anything of it at the time.

"It was only when the police knocked on my door that I realised something serious had happened."

Sussex Ambulance Service said the woman's death was a direct result of being hit by the car.

The couple had not lived long at Parham Court, according to neighbours.

Very few knew either closely, although one described them as a "lovely couple" and said they had moved to Worthing from Shoreham.

Richard Marquis said: "I met them once very briefly and they seemed very nice.

"They kept themselves to themselves but the seemed like a lovely couple."

Another, Mark Hammond, 34, said: "I really didn't know the couple at all.

"They were very quiet and hadn't been in the building for long.

"But they seemed nice enough and what has happened seems to be a tragic accident."

The couple are said to have a daughter in Tarring and a son in Findon.

Most residents at Parham Court were left shocked by what had happened in what is normally a quiet, off-street location.

The Rover car was taken away by police officers for examination.

Officers were last night contacting the couple's next of kin.