Grieving children share photo of terminally ill parents holding hands as they say their final goodbyes to one another

Clinging to each other for comfort, this is the desperate last image of devoted couple Julie and Mike Bennet. The touching picture of the married pair, who were diagnosed with terminal cancer three years apart, was taken hours before Mr Bennet’s death this week.

It was released last night by their three children, Luke, 21, Hannah, 18, and Oliver, 13, who face a frightening future as orphans.

Family and friends of Mr and Mrs Bennet have promised to support the youngsters, who are all still in full-time education, and help them fulfill their ambitions after their mother’s death. Close friend Sue Wright, 48, a business development director, said she had visited Mrs Bennet, who is seriously ill in a hospice, following her husband’s death.

‘I told her the community would come together to help look after her kids - and she opened her eyes and smiled,’ Mrs Wright said.

Another friend, Heather Heaton Gallagher, spokeswoman for the children, said: ‘Facing a double terminal cancer diagnosis is beyond belief.

‘Words cannot express our desperate sadness for such a beautiful family.

‘The Bennets are known to all for their generosity, their love for life, and their down to earth approach. Julie has kept the children in a normal routine whilst dealing with Mike’s illness over the past few years.

‘When she became ill, she made it her purpose to create as many memories as a family for the children to hold onto. As a community, we are working hard to support the family so that they can stay together and ensure that they can continue their education as planned.’

Mr Bennet, 57, a self-employed cabinet maker, was diagnosed with a brain tumour four years ago and was nursed throughout his illness at the family home, in Irby, Wirral.

But last May the family were shattered when Mrs Bennet, 50, a primary school teacher, was diagnosed with liver and kidney cancer. Although she underwent several rounds of chemotherapy and pledged to fight the disease for her children’s sakes, it spread to her major organs and doctors delivered the devastating news that the disease was terminal.

She recently moved into a hospice to be with her dying husband, who passed away on Monday with his family by his bedside.



Source: Daily Mail