EXCLUSIVE

By STUART DYE

A HOLIDAY in Turkey turned into a nightmare for Nicola Burgess - when an earthquake struck.

Nicola was with her boyfriend Marcus Lewis when the earthquake shook their Turkish resort of Marmaris at 4am.

Hundreds of holiday-makers were evacuated from their apartments and had to spend the rest of the night around the pool.

"I woke with a start thinking someone was in our room," said Nicola, from Lyndale Court, Winsford.

"It was the barman - he told us we had to get out immediately.

"People were panicking and screaming and making the situation much worse. The majority of injuries seemed to be caused by people running around in a panic, but our holiday rep arrived in his boxer shorts and was absolutely brilliant in calming everyone down," she added.

The devastating earthquake, which happened early in October, made headlines around the world as the tragedy unfolded.

But Nicola and her boyfriend, who were several hundred miles from the earthquake's actual epicentre, were among a minority of people who did not return home.

Nicola said: "There were mild aftershocks for the next few days so we spent three nights sleeping outside away from the buildings - but we were determined not to let it ruin our holiday.

"It is a beautiful country and the locals were brilliant, bringing drinks from the local cafes to keep us going.

"I have just booked to go back there again next summer and I can't wait."

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