When the Spanish Civil War tore through Spain in 1936, thousands of people fled the country's rural towns for the cities in search of work.

From these conditions emerged the unlikely love story of Juan Martin and Sinforosa Colomer - a couple who refused to abandon their small village where they have lived by themselves for the past 45 years.

The couple, now aged 79 and 82 respectively, work the land and take care of a few dozen cats and dogs in a town that was once home to 200 residents.

Juan Martin Colomer and his wife Sinforosa eat lunch together - as they have done every day for the past 45 years

The couple spend their days washing, cleaning and tending to their animals and crops

They live in the abandoned town of La Estrella (pictured), located about 100miles from Valencia

A short film by Jungles in Paris has detailed the simple but hard life the couple live in the isolated town, located around 100miles from Valencia, in the country's east.

Juan Martin told the filmmakers he would have left many years ago, but his wife grew up in the city and it was there they had a daughter, who tragically died aged eight.

He explained: 'Because my wife was born in this place, she has always lived here. She doesn't want to leave.

'Had it been up to me, I would have left the town a long time ago. But I can't leave her by herself.'

The town, like any other rural village, once had a mayor, policeman, priest and professional teachers.

But according to Angloinfo, in the wake of a natural disaster that killed many residents, it never regained its former vibrancy.

This loss of population was further exacerbated, first by the movement of population from rural towns to cities amid the Civil War, and more recently, modern demographics.

Juan Martin sits by a log fire with one of his pet dogs for company in the town which was once home to 200 people

He told filmmakers he would have left the town many years ago if his wife wanted to leave, but she didn't want to and he would not leave her on her own

The couple look after several dozen dogs and cats, as well as a few chickens and roosters

Without electricity or a washing machine, Sinforosa washes the couple's clothes by hand

Sinforosa and Juan met each other when they were both working in the fields, and got to know each other at the local tavern

In one particularly poignant moment in the film, the two are filmed eating lunch together in silence when Sinforosa gently scolds her husband.

'How much oil have you put [on the food]?' she asks. 'Don't you see the lettuce is plain?'

With a grace bred by extreme familiarity, he simply chuckles at her reproach, rather than offering a retort.

He told the filmmakers he met her one day when they were young as she was bringing the cattle in from the fields.