Greek locals tried to help us while their homes were on fire

TOURISTS ARRIVE AT AIRPORT AFTER RHODES EVACUATION

- DAMON WILKINSON

TOURISTS caught up in the emergency evacuation of Rhodes after have told of their ordeal after landing at Manchester Airport yesterday morning.

Around 19,000 people have been taken to safety, the Athens government said, after wildfires tore across the Greek island.

Flames began last week as record temperatures in Europe intensified in the south east of the island.

Just after 7am yesterday passengers evacuated on a emergency TUI flight one of three scheduled to land at Manchester yesterday started filing through the arrivals gate at Terminal 2.

Among them were Michael Toole, his partner Lauren Owen and their children Elliott Owen, five, and Willow Toole, seven.

The family, from Worsley, Salford, were staying at Atlantic Dreams Resort in Gennadi when they were evacuated. Michael said: "Everything was fine then all of the sudden the sky just turned a very strange yellow colour.

"We weren't worried to start with but then the army came in the middle of the night and they moved everyone out to another hotel.

"We slept on the floor but then the next day we taken to a school. The locals were fantastic they brought us pizza, toys for the kids and water. They couldn't do enough for us.

"At 2am this morning we were woken up and told there was a flight for us at 3am. It's been OK. The only time we felt unsafe was when the hotel was evacuated. The kids have treated it like an adventure."

Up to 10,000 Britons are estimated to be on Rhodes. People have told of being forced to sleep with hundreds of others in schools, airports and sports centres across the island.