Lancashire holidaymaker evacuated as ‘scary’ Kos wild fires rage

A British tourist has told of being caught up in “scary” wildfires while on holiday in Greece.

Diane Critchley and her partner were ordered by local authorities to evacuate their hotel on the island of Kos on Monday as the fires raged nearby.

They were sent to a football field full of 5,000 evacuees which was said was “horrendous”, with just two toilets and people being sick.

Ms Critchley, from Lancashire, was later allowed back to her hotel when the fires were brought under control.

She said an alert went off on Monday afternoon when she was by the pool and they were ordered to leave four hours later.

Ms Critchley told BBC North West Tonight that “it was scary” after seeing the “smoke billowing” in the hills around her hotel.

She went on: “The authorities decided we needed to get out of the hotel for our own safety.

“We potentially could have been cut off if we hadn’t got out of the area down the coast road.”

The holidaymaker added: “As we went to the football ground, we actually passed the fires and could smell the smoke at the football ground.

“It was horrendous – absolutely horrendous at the football field.

“There were no blankets for the young children and people were being sick around us.

“There were actually two ambulances called while were were there.

“There were two toilets for 5,000 people so you can imagine the situation there.”

Ms Critchley added that it was “mayhem” as some tourists were told to walk to the airport to catch flights as others got on buses.

But she is now “looking forward” to finishing her holiday before flying back to the UK on Saturday.