The Ghanaian lover of a British woman scammed out of her £1million life savings before she died in a mysterious car crash has slammed her family for suggesting she was murdered.

Janet Fordham, 69, was cheated out of the huge sum of money after being cruelly targeted by romance fraudsters - including a man claiming to be a British Army major - as her family were helpless to stop her.

The retired housekeeper was destitute, unable to afford food and living in a caravan at her son Martin's farmhouse in Devon.

Then, weeks before she died in a car accident, Janet, who had been lonely after the death of her second husband, travelled to west Africa after meeting a man on Facebook called Daniel 'Kofi' Agyapong, who apparently took pity on her - and claimed he would help her get her money back.

Janet's family told the Daily Mail at the weekend that they were convinced she had been murdered in Ghana when the fraudsters there realised that she had no money left and claimed the car crash in which she died had been staged.

But Mr Agyapong, 52, today hit back at her grieving family and insisted the pair had fallen in love and were going to marry and build a house in Africa.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, he said Janet was 'lonely and miserable' in the UK.

Rubbishing claims he was involved in her death, Mr Agyapong, 53, said: 'I loved Janet, she was my girlfriend and we were very much in love, we were planning to get married when she was killed.

'We were going to see my family and to tell them we were going to get married, we had the wedding licence, and everything was in place, she was so happy to be with me and she said she had never been happier.

'I loved her so much, I think about her every day, I miss her and all I want to do is go to England, put flowers on her tomb and cry. She wanted to make a life in Ghana with me, she was happy here.

'The family are wrong to say I was involved; I think about what happened every day, it was an accident, she wasn't wearing a seatbelt, if she had put it on she would have survived, I should have checked.

'I held her in my arms until the emergency services arrived, they took her to hospital, and the doctors tried their best but there was nothing they could do, she had a bad head injury.

'I was hurt as well and I still have pains now in my neck, but I would give anything for Janet to be here with me now.'

An inquest last week was told how Janet was cheated by the scammers who were based in the UK, Germany, Ghana and the United States and she flew to Africa in October 2022 to meet Mr Agyapong who promised to retrieve her money.

For the next few months, Janet travelled from her home in Honiton, Devon, to Accra in Ghana to be with him.

They got engaged, and it was while driving to see relatives in nearby Oti on Valentines Day in 2023, to tell them, that she tragically died.

Recalling the accident, he said: 'The road was narrow and it was being repaired. We were driving towards where my family lived and then another car came towards me, it was overtaking.

'There was nothing I could do, to avoid it I swerved and we came off the road and turned over twice, we hit a tree, there was nothing I could do, and I take full responsibility for what happened.

'I was lucky not to be killed but Janet was in a bad way, I held her until the ambulance arrived, I went with her to the hospital. We had stopped for a break earlier and when we got back in the car, she didn't put the seatbelt on. If she had she would have survived.'

Reacting angrily to claims he was involved in her death he said: 'Do you not think the Ghana police would have investigated this fully? Why would I want to kill her, I loved Janet and she loved me. For God's sake it was an accident.

'Janet was only happy when she was in Ghana with me. They just want to tarnish my image.

'I was not covered by any insurance and have no money to pay for the hospital and medical bills. They need to know I loved Janet so much, I was holding her as she was dying.

'We were going to get married so she could stay here and be in Ghana with me, she was happy here. We were devoted to each other. She lived in my house, she was happier here than in England, she was a beautiful lady and we loved each other.

'She felt lonely and sad in England but here in Ghana she was happy, she had a smile on her face, and we sent pictures of her family to show her that. They can't say I was involved, it's wrong.'

Mr Agyapong said: 'We met on Facebook and she told me all about the people who scammed her and I said I would help her get her money back. We talked and she said she would come and visit me.

'The plan was to find the scammers and then call the police to get them arrested, we were close but then she died. I want Janet's family to know I am not a bad person; I wanted to help her because I loved her. I am an innocent man.'

Police sources in Ghana confirmed that a senior official from the UK High Commission in Accra attended Janet's post-mortem and agreed with the findings of death due to a road accident, ruling out any further investigations.

An official report confirms the crash happened after Agyapong – who is described as a professional driver – swerved his Suzuki Altos off the road to avoid an oncoming car.

It adds how Janet was 'found unconscious' and rushed to the Peki Government hospital where she died from a 'severe head injury'.

The statement confirmed that Janet had arrived in Ghana in October 2022 and had been living with Agyapong until the time of her death the following February.

Describing the crash, it says: 'The driver and deceased were travelling to Nkonya-Wuropong to visit the accused relatives.

'But on reaching a section of the road at Sodizikope near Kpeve, the accused driver alleged that an oncoming vehicle occupied his lane and in the process of avoiding a head-on collision, he veered off the road and as a result, the car somersaulted and crashed into a big tree in the nearby bush.'

A police spokesman in Accra told the Daily Mail there was no suggestion of foul play.

He added: 'Because the victim was a UK national, the High Commission in Accra was informed and a liaison officer attended the postmortem of the deceased at the local hospital.

'The pathologist ruled that the death was from a head injury following a road traffic accident and the deceased was not wearing a seatbelt.

'There were initial suspicions that there might have been something untoward, but this was discounted and if the High Commission liaison officer had suspected anything then further investigations would have been carried out, but they were satisfied the death was due to a road traffic accident.'

Agyapong was eventually convicted of careless driving and given a suspended prison sentence and fine.