It was one of the most unlikely friendships imaginable: a blue-blooded Duchess and sometime Princess sharing confidences and affection with a single mother from a notorious council estate in Hull.

But now, in a sign of how low Sarah Ferguson’s reputation has slumped, she has been told that her close union with that jobless mother of five which lasted two decades is over for good.

Tonia Sargerson, 64, who lives on the famously tough Preston Road estate in the bleak Humberside city, has let it be known that she is so disgusted by what she has learned about Fergie from the Epstein files that she never wants to see her again.

The friendship began 18 years ago when Ferguson – who still retained her title – took part in a fly-on-the-wall documentary, The Duchess In Hull.

This saw her spend time with Ms Sargerson and, in spite of their wildly different backgrounds and circumstances, the two women formed a close bond.

And remarkably, the pair – only two years apart in age but separated by enormous social division – had remained in contact ever since, sending emails and texts and even meeting up on ad hoc occasions when their very different diaries allowed.

But that long-established routine has now come to an abrupt end, after Ms Sargerson read the countless revelations about her 66-year-old aristocratic friend in the Epstein files.

The 64-year-old mother of five has been ‘appalled and horrified’ by Ferguson’s contact with Epstein – which was ongoing during filming of the documentary.

Tonia Sargerson (pictured right), 64, who lives on the famously tough Preston Road estate in the bleak Humberside city, has let it be known that she is so disgusted by what she has learned about Fergie from the Epstein files that she never wants to see her again

The friendship began 18 years ago when Ferguson – who still retained her title – took part in a fly-on-the-wall documentary, The Duchess In Hull. The two women formed a close bond

She has told friends she would never have had Ferguson in her home if she’d had any idea that she had such close links with a known paedophile, sources have told the Daily Mail.

The documentary was shot in 2008, the same year that Epstein pleaded guilty and was sentenced by a Florida state court for procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

He had been under investigation since 2005 after a parent reported that he had sexually abused her 14-year-old daughter. Investigators identified 36 girls between the ages of 14 and 17, who Epstein had sexually abused.

Despite full knowledge of the investigation and his conviction, Ferguson remained in close personal contact with Epstein.

Ferguson had for years insisted that she had severed all contact with Epstein as soon as she learned the nature of his crimes upon his sex crimes conviction.

But the release of three million documents by the US Department of Justice has seen this excuse repeatedly demolished.

Just last night the Daily Mail revealed how she had begged Epstein to upgrade her and her daughters’ flights when she was planning to visit him soon after he was freed from jail.

The emails uncovered by the Daily Mail suggest the ex-duchess had her office contact Epstein asking him to ‘graciously’ fund the trip within hours of his release from prison for child sex abuse.

Ms Ferguson, who was on the verge of bankruptcy at the time, even pushed for Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie to be bumped up from economy to club class for the July 2009 visit.

The pair – only two years apart in age but separated by enormous social division – had remained in contact ever since, sending emails and texts and even meeting up on ad hoc occasions when their very different diaries allowed

Other unearthed messages suggest she asked Epstein to assist with a screening of her film Young Victoria by either letting her use his New York home or by giving her $20,000 for a venue.

The disgraced financier was released under house arrest to his waterfront mansion in Palm Beach on July 22, 2009, after serving 13 months for soliciting a child for prostitution.

That same day, Ms Ferguson’s staff appeared to have called Epstein’s house manager suggesting he pay for her trip to Florida.

And it’s details like these that have proved a tipping point for Ms Sargerson, who as a mother sees herself as fiercely protective of children’s safety – with an abhorrence for abusers or anyone seen to be proximate to them.

A source said: ‘When the emails were released from the Epstein files it was clear that Sarah Ferguson had a close relationship with Epstein despite everything he’d done.

‘Tonia was horrified that someone she has considered a friend for all these years would continue a friendship with someone capable of what Epstein did.

‘It has made her feel sick that Sarah, who she sees as a paedophile sympathiser, was in her house, around her young children, while at the same time being involved with a notorious paedophile.

‘So her association with Sarah Ferguson is over forever as far as she is concerned, she never wants to be associated with her again.’

Despite the gulf in social standing, Ferguson continued to send birthday cards to Tonia each year and they carried on a friendship that few could have predicted once the cameras stopped rolling.

The ITV programme was supposed to show the then Duchess, an ambassador for Weight Watchers, promoting a healthier lifestyle for Tonia, husband Mick and their five kids aged seven to 24.

Ferguson focused on improving the family’s diet on a strict weekly budget of £80 and visited a local school to promote her ‘Shape Up’ campaign.

Critics panned her ‘preachy’ attitude and said the programme was condescending to families struggling on low incomes.

At the end of the documentary the family said they felt Ferguson ‘couldn’t wait to get away from them’.

However to everyone’s surprise – including Tonia’s – Ferguson continued to remain in touch, sending cards and gifts for the family.

Ms Sargerson has been ‘appalled and horrified’ by Ferguson’s (pictured) contact with Epstein – which was ongoing during filming of the documentary. According to friends, she would never have had Ferguson in her home if she’d had any idea 

A source told the Daily Mail: ‘It has made her [Ms Sargerson] feel sick that Sarah, who she sees as a paedophile sympathiser, was in her house, around her young children, while at the same time being involved with a notorious paedophile’

The two mums were reunited in 2013 when Ferguson said: ‘Tonia will probably be a better friend to me than many of my friends in other walks of life because of her integrity and values.

‘Tonia and I always agreed it didn’t matter where we were in life – we shared mothering and friendship, which come from a place of complete equality.

‘I might have been lucky enough to marry a prince and I might not live on a council estate in Hull and have five kids, but it doesn’t mean we can’t have the same values.’

However the Sargerson family no longer believe they share any of Ferguson’s values and feel ‘betrayed’ that she was allowed to spend so much time in their home.

The source said: ‘It has upset Tonia hugely to think that her children might have been one connection away from this notorious monster.’

Some of the emails between Epstein and Ferguson date from when he was still serving his sentence for soliciting sex from a minor, according to the documents released from the files.

He was released from prison on July 22, 2009, after serving 13 months of his 18-month sentence.

There are emails in the files from that June and earlier in the July from ‘Sarah’.

An email from August the following year reads: ‘I am feeling very traumatised and alone. I am wanting to work for you at organising your houses.’

The next month she appears to ask ‘when are you going to employ me’, and the same day ‘phew.. you still love me’.

Pictured: Ms Sargerson. The Sargerson family no longer believe they share any of Ferguson’s values and feel ‘betrayed’ that she was allowed to spend so much time in their home

In another exchange in 2009, she jokes with Epstein about another woman: ‘You can marry her too. She is single and a great body.’

Referring to her former husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Ferguson writes later in 2010: ‘So you have not forgotten about me. I do know that my handsome Prince is a saint.. And you worship him, I do too. But then I did marry him. And still love him.’

Tonia, who still lives on the estate, refused to comment when she was approached by the Daily Mail.