A Bradford couple caught up in Hurricane Georges on the paradise island of Antigua today told how they thought they were going to die.

Michael Butler and Julia Russell, of Low Moor, told how they barricaded their rooms in the face of the 150mph Caribbean storm.

Windows were shattering all around them and parts of the hotel roof were ripped off as the hurricane battered the luxury Club Antigua hotel, reportedly killing two people.

And another Bradford tourist - David Wallis, 26 - returned home from a trip to the Dominican Republic to reveal how he had also boarded up the windows of his hotel room to repel the storm which has so far killed more than 250 people.

They were among scores of tourists who returned to the UK with tales of horror from the hurricane, which lashed the Caribbean before moving on to Florida.

Julia Russell, 26, and her partner Michael Butler, who are both residential social workers, said: "We thought we were going to die."

She described how she and her boyfriend barricaded their room and added: "The hotel shut down and we were all told to stay in our rooms. The wind was terrible and there were trees being blown over.

"Windows were shattering even though we were told they would not and parts of the roof were blown off.

"Before the eye of the storm passed over, it was very windy, but then it came back and it scared the life out of us."

She said palm trees were uprooted and sea water reached the door of their room.

"The wedding chapel was blown away. It was just horrendous - very frightening," she added.

Michael's mother Marie Butler, of Undercliffe, Bradford, said: "They said it was terrifying out there and I'm just glad they are back safe and well."

David Wallis, 26, of Bradford, who returned yesterday from the Dominican Republic, said the storm also wreaked havoc there.

"We put the mattress in the bathroom away from the window and the room was boarded up," he said.

"But in the end there wasn't much to see - the hurricane bounced off a mountain range. Most people were very calm and the hotel staff were excellent in preparing us."

The Dominican Republic government confirmed 125 people had been killed but Red Cross workers claimed another 76 had perished, with 100,000 left homeless.

Some 50 others are feared dead in other parts of the Caribbean and thousands of Britons holidaying in Florida are braced for the hurricane which is expected to strike there today, causing severe flooding and damage.

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