Rhodes fires: Locals doing 'amazing job' to help tourists

Jess Bailey and her family were taken to an evacuation centre when they arrived

A woman from Devon who has returned safely from Rhodes said locals were doing an "amazing job" and "incredibly sympathetic" to tourists trying to escape the wildfires.

Roughly 19,000 people have been evacuated from the Greek island since Tuesday.

Mrs Bailey, her husband and two children arrived on Saturday.

They were then advised they could not get to their hotel because the road was cut off by the fires.

Mrs Bailey, a Devon county councillor, said the situation there was "difficult" but volunteers were doing as much as they could and doing "an amazing, amazing job".

"We were in a school and some of the people who were volunteering were the teachers, and they were just constantly bringing in... food all the time, bringing in plenty of refreshments."

She added: "I think they understood, especially for those of us who never even got to the hotel, they were... incredibly sympathetic."

'Adding to the burden'

The mother of two said she made the swift decision to book flights home because she thought she and her family were "adding to the burden".

She said the country was in "crisis" and the situation was "really quite shocking".

"It was only when we landed that we realised - and it's kind of like that dawning realisation - that you're not necessarily in a safe place and you're not necessarily in control at all, and you suddenly re-evaluate and you kind of stop worrying about your holiday and you worry about being safe."

Up to 10,000 British nationals are thought to be on the Greek island and holiday firms are scrambling to get them home.

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