A Londoner who moved to South Africa after falling in love with the country has been murdered by machete-wielding robbers at his remote farm.
Chris Preece, 54, a mining engineer originally from Southgate, was stabbed after confronting the men in his kitchen at the Fleur de Lys farm outside Ficksburg, near the Lesotho border.
His wife Felicity, 56, is believed to have heard his cries for help, but was attacked before she could call the police and suffered a fractured skull. She is in a stable condition in hospital.
The robbers escaped with several mobile phones and a small amount of cash after the raid on Saturday.
Mrs Preece’s daughter-in-law Jeanne said three men poisoned the couple’s pack of guard dogs before breaking in. She said of Mrs Preece: “The robbers threw her against the wall, slashed her and then left for dead. For what? A little money, a wallet, a few phones.”
She said Mr Preece moved to South Africa in 1995 for work but stayed after he fell in love with the country.
He worked for mining firm Snowden in Johannesburg but spent every weekend on the farm where his wife lived and which they planned to turn into a nature reserve.
