Ref. 755724-17A COUPLE who had their dream wedding in Sri Lanka washed away by the tsunami have decided they will go back and wed there at Christmas.

Anna Green, 26, and her 32 year-old fianc, Simon Miles, had been planning to marry on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka, only to be forced from their beachside hotel in Ahungalla by the tidal wave.

But now, despite still waking with nightmares of the giant wave, they have vowed to return to be married.

Anna said: "It's taken us a little while to get back to normal. We've both had a few bad nightmares about waves.

"But the Sri Lankan people were so kind and generous. Many of them had lost family members and their homes and still made us their priority."

Although the couple, who run Smiles Dental, in Gorse Hill, making and repairing dentures, are now getting back to normality they are still haunted by the memories of the tragedy.

Simon said: "I don't think I will ever look at the sea the same again after that. I looked back at the water as we were running and that's when it really dawned on me."

The couple were staying in the Triton Hotel in Sri Lanka and it was the day before their wedding that the huge tidal wave struck.

Looking back at what should have been the happiest time of their lives, Anna can clearly recall the terror they went through.

"We were in a rose petal bath on the terrace of the hotel looking out to sea as the wave came further and further in land.

"We jumped out of the spa bath in just our swimming costumes and ran back indoors.

"We followed the female masseuse back into the spa and discovered that there was no way upstairs."

At this point the masseuse from the hotel started tearing at the plaster board wall and ripped a hole for the couple to squeeze through.

"We climbed through the hole and ran along a corridor to get to some stairs.

"People started to come out of their rooms with cut feet where the wave had crashed through the glass."

For Anna and Simon it was the noise of the wave that has stayed with them.

Simon said: "The wave was flooding into the building behind us. It was a noise like thunder.

"Even a couple of weeks later any sudden noise we heard would make us jump."

As the water crashed into their hotel the couple managed to scramble to safety.

With no electricity and no means of communication all they could do then was wait.

"We were all convinced that a third bigger wave was on its way. We watched the sea for 11 hours," Anna said. "I kept panicking every time we heard a noise. The sea had not moved but we were convinced another wave was coming."

Simon said: "That was the worst thing of it all, just waiting for another one to come."

The pair were eventually evacuated inland to the safety of the capitol Colombo and came back to England on December 29.

And despite a lucky escape they have not been put off going back.

Anna said: "The main thing is that we are alive. Many were not so fortunate.

"The people were an inspiration. It took us a long time to save and we've lost £7,000 but we have decided to go back and have our dream wedding."

Gareth Bethell