Cheshire mother attempting to flee wildfires in Rhodes

Up to 10,000 Brits are estimated to be on fire-ravaged Rhodes, with the first repatriation flights now landing back in the UK.

People have been forced to sleep in schools, airports and sports centres as a result of the wildfires, which have started spreading towards the coast on the island’s central-eastern side.

One such holidaymaker is Helen Tonks from Cheshire, who said she was flown into a “living nightmare” by Tui at 11pm on Saturday, arriving to discover her hotel had burnt down.

“We landed and were told, ‘Sorry, you can’t go to your hotel – it’s burned down,” she told The Sun.

“We had no idea the fires were this bad or as close to the hotels as they were.

“Tui said nothing, not even when our flight was delayed.

“Even the captain’s chat on the plane was upbeat.

“We would never have come if we had known.”

The gutted remains of cars lie on a Rhodes road (Image: Lefteris Diamanidis/InTime News/AP)

Tui confirmed the first holidaymakers returned to the UK on “three dedicated flights” overnight, with plans to bring back more “as soon as possible”.

A Tui spokeswoman said the firm’s “main priority” is customers’ safety and its staff are doing “all they can” to help those affected by the fires.

The firm later said: “We appreciate how distressing and difficult it’s been for those who have been evacuated and ask that they continue to follow the advice of the local authorities and keep in touch with the Tui reps who are present in all evacuation centres. Our teams will be contacting customers with any updates as soon as they can.

“We have cancelled all outbound flights to Rhodes up to and including Tuesday, and passengers due to travel on these flights will receive full refunds.

“Passengers due to travel on Wednesday will be offered a fee-free amend to another holiday or the option to cancel for a full refund. We are still operating flights to bring those customers currently on holiday elsewhere in Rhodes home as planned.”