AN ELDERLY widower who was diagnosed with dementia after his wife’s death said cutting edge technology has given him a new lease of life.

David Stace, 84, said he will never forget the moment he saw Pamela, his beloved partner of more than 40 years, hit by a car and the “intense loneliness” that followed after she died the next day in hospital.

The shock of the crash in January 2017 left him with post traumatic stress syndrome.

Mr Stace, from Eastbourne, also started to forget names, struggled with numbers and frequently lost keys.

Although he wrote them down, he kept losing his lists.

A year later he was diagnosed with both Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia and worried about the future.

However, David was determined not to let the condition defeat him so he experimented with Google Home smart speakers after being inspired by a television advert.

After seeing the benefits, he said he was “amazed” at how they have helped and he now feels safer and not as lonely.

He said: “After the accident I was completely lost.

“Pam and I were walking home from the shop.

“The next minute, I saw this figure lying on the top of the car that then slid on to the ground, and it was Pam.

“She was one of those fantastic people who could do anything.

“She will never be forgotten.

“The loneliness is so intense when you have been with someone for more than 40 years.

“I’d like to bring her back, but I can’t. I want to keep Pam alive in my heart.

“Every day I think of her.”

According to David’s carer Jason Nicholls, the symptoms of dementia came “hot on the heels of the tragedy”.

David was left feeling “overwhelmed and confused” when he was diagnosed a year after his wife’s death.

He said: “It wasn’t properly explained. I didn’t come out feeling I knew the answer.

“You tend to feel that’s the end of life, that’s when people get very down.”

The smart speakers turn on the lights and radio in the morning before he gets out of bed, remind him to take medication and eat throughout the day as well as attend appointments.

Whenever David thinks of his late partner, he can call up pictures of her in his computer.

He was initially dubious, fearing the gadget would be too complex.

He said: “The technology certainly helped to make me feel safer.

“I think the smart speakers are great for people like myself. I was amazed. I’d never seen anything like it before, it was fantastic.”