A LATCHFORD tourist has described how he was forced to run for his life when he was caught up in forest fires in northern Greece.

Mike Robinson, aged 22, returned from his holiday to Hanioti on Thursday but his experiences when the lights went off and the smoke hit the resort will stay with him for some time yet.

The Oldham Street resident was enjoying a break with his girlfriend when the raging fires took hold on August 22.

The pair were going for dinner at around 7pm and walking up the main street in the resort when the blaze was suddenly 10m in front of them.

He says: "We turned round and started running. There were cars bumping into each other. You could not see anything because of the thick black smoke. We were trying to find our way back to the hotel but you just couldn't see a thing."

He said everyone was running to get away from the ash and a fireball hit his T-shirt as they tried to flee the smoke.

He said: "We managed to get down to the beach and there were hundreds of people there. I even saw families putting armbands on their children and going out to sea.

"The sky was a real fiery red and it looked as though a bomb had hit."

While on the beach Mr Robinson had to use a tablecloth from a nearby restaurant dipped in water to try to help him breathe.

When the couple arrived back at their hotel the following day they found the trees had burned down and the tables and chairs had melted into the balcony.

He was critical of his travel company, though, saying that staff didn't take action quickly enough.

He added: "The whole thing was just unbelievable."

* Click here for video footage of the sky turning orange, taken by the couple.

* And click here for footage of the smoke billowing over the resort.