Rhodes honeymoon 'wrecked' after hotel evacuation

Amelia and Alistair Richards had to leave their hotel in Rhodes on Monday evening

A holidaymaker in Rhodes whose hotel was evacuated said the experience had wrecked her honeymoon.

Amelia Richards and her husband Alistair, of Stoke-on-Trent, said they were not aware of the wildfires when they arrived in Rhodes on Saturday.

"There was no word being mentioned about wildfires, {we} didn't have a clue," she said.

The couple were moved to the north of the Greek island on Monday evening after receiving instructions from the travel company TUI.

At least 19,000 people have been evacuated so far from Rhodes.

Greece has seen temperatures exceeding 40C (104F) in recent weeks, with fires burning for nearly a week in some areas.

Mrs Richards said the hotel evacuation had been "quite scary" but "well organised, so that was keeping me calm".

"Everyone was just relieved that we were going somewhere where it wasn't constantly smoky all day and ash falling out the sky," she added.

The couple had booked to stay on the island until Friday, after their initial honeymoon was cancelled due to Covid.

"I can't be dealing with it anymore, I just want to come home," she said.

Despite their experience, they said the constant communication from TUI had been "brilliant".

A spokesperson for TUI earlier said the safety and well-being of customers and teams remained the top priority.

"We'll continue to work with the relevant authorities to do all we can to support and are working on plans to get customers home," they added.

The holiday provider added it had cancelled all flights to the island until Friday.

Greece has seen temperatures exceeding 40C (104F) in recent weeks, with fires burning for nearly a week in some areas