Britons 'feared for their lives' during hurricane

Kyle Holmes and his family were in Jamaica for his mum's wedding when Hurricane Melissa struck the island

A dad from Greater Manchester said he feared for his family's lives as Hurricane Melissa tore across Jamaica.

Kyle Holmes and his family, visiting the Caribbean island from Bolton for his mum's wedding, were forced to hunker down in their Hanover Parish hotel room for 20 hours.

Mr Holmes, whose wife and three young children were with him, told BBC North West Tonight he felt "the building was just getting ready to take off" as gusts peaked at 185mph (295km/h).

"It was like being like in a war zone - it was horrible," he added. "All the windows were shaking and things were getting thrown at us."

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The Holmes family had travelled to the Grand Palladium Resort, in the town of Lucea on the island's north-west coast, for the wedding on Monday.

Once the ceremony had finished, they had to be kept inside the hotel as wind speeds increased.

"We got told to go into our rooms and we were in the rooms for nearly 20 hours and then it just snowballed - it was horrific," said Mr Holmes.

In an attempt to keep his family safe, he said he pushed items of furniture up against the windows in case they were blown out.

"It got really bad - everyone was really panicking," said Mr Holmes.

"We pulled all the mattresses off the bed and put the frame against the windows.

"We were then just in the corner of the room really just hugging and praying that it would be over."

Mr Holmes described becoming "emotional" as he tried to reassure his children - aged seven, 10 and 12 - at the height of the hurricane on Tuesday night (early Wednesday UK time).

Much of the Jamaica has been left without power following the most powerful hurricane in the country's history.

Melissa is now moving north-east towards the Bahamas and Bermuda after hitting the island of Cuba earlier on Wednesday.

Mr Holmes continued: "I've never been involved in something like that - it was very traumatic.

"You see it on disaster films and you felt like you were in the middle of one, I can't really describe how bad it was.

"I really did think that this was going to be it."

The Holmes family spent 20 hours sheltering in their hotel room

The family's return flight has been cancelled as a result of the hurricane, with Sangster Airport suffering considerable damage.

"I've been sent videos and it's literally submerged with water and the ceilings are all down," he said.

Travel company Tui have since extended the family's stay "until further notice" whilst committing to cover the costs of the extra days the Holmes family are in Jamaica for.

Yet the lack of clarity over when they could arrive home is still making Mr Holmes feel anxious.

"Fingers crossed it's soon as we both have jobs to go to and bills to pay.

"We are literally just stuck."