HOLIDAYMAKERS Les and Sheila Beckwith have told how they huddled terrified inside a Florida villa as Hurricane Charley battered them with 145 miles per hour winds.

The couple from Bromham flew into Port Charlotte in Florida last Friday for two weeks of sunshine and relaxation, but nothing could have prepared them for the nightmare which was about to unfold.

The hurricane, which had already caused widespread devastation in Cuba, was now gaining momentum and heading for the Florida coast, and despite weather reports saying it would bypass Port Charlotte, the storm then turned and literally blasted into the town.

Speaking from Florida on Monday night, Mr Beckwith, a 67-year-old computer technician at John Bentley School in Calne, said: "We were renting a villa from an American couple and as soon as the reports came on the news about the hurricane, we knew we would have to act.

"Half an hour before it was due, the American friends we rented the villa from rang and said we should go to their house to take shelter.

"Unlike many houses in Florida, they have a brick-built living room with metal shutters and they believed this would keep us safe.

"They picked us up and we ended up in this room with a group of Americans preparing for the storm to hit."

Mr Beckwith said he would never forget the sound of the sudden winds which then ripped through Port Charlotte.

"The only thing I can compare it to was a freight train coming right towards you, or a line of tanks," he said.

"It was horrific and very frightening.

"I heard that there were lots of mini tornadoes too, which were causing so much damage.

"Then it all went quiet and my wife and I thought it was over, but we were actually in the eye of the hurricane and as suddenly as the wind stopped it started again, even louder and harder, from the other direction."

An hour and a half after the storm hit Port Charlotte, the Beckwiths finally helped open the shutters of their refuge and were shocked at what they saw.

"We were staying on a three-mile long road and one half of it was literally flattened," said Mr Beckwith.

"Houses, garages and trees, all flat.

"Incredibly though, the opposite end of the street where we were staying was relatively untouched.

"We went back to our villa to find lots of debris in the garden, but the only damage being to the metal guard cage over the pool, which had been twisted.

"But when we went into the centre of town, the place was devastated.

"Concrete roofs of petrol garages were twisted off and all the houses were gone.

"The Red Cross were out helping people and we could see people being told they could get loans and help."

Despite having to travel up to 80 miles to get a mobile phone signal and to buy food and water, the Beckwiths are still hoping to be able to stay in Florida for the remainder of their holiday.

"There is still no electricity and no phones and we have been heating water on the barbecue," said Mr Beckwith.

"With no air conditioning it is very hot and humid and there are lots of mosquitoes.

"But we have been amazed by how everyone is out and about helping everyone there is a great strength of spirit here.

"We would like to stay if we can."

While her parents have been in the thick of the action, the Beckwith's daughter Debbie Bianchi, 39, of Redhill Close, Derry Hill, has been desperately worried, trying to get word of her mum and dad.

"When the hurricane turned towards Port Charlotte we started to try to get hold of them but it said on the news that all the power and telephone lines were down," said Mrs Bianchi.

"My family and I just sat in front of Fox News and watched. We were panicking because we couldn't reach them.

"Then on Friday night we had a text message from my dad saying that they had moved into the home of the couple who owned the villa they were staying in. Then, on Sunday night, they managed to get through to us."

Hurricane Charley is reported to have killed 19 people during its path of destruction.

Honeymoon in a hurricane

HIGHWORTH butcher Andy Sears and his bride Jo, who went to Florida to get married, found themselves caught up in the lethal hurricane Charley, which passed right over their holiday villa in Florida.

They were staying at Southern Dunes in Polk County when the hurricane struck.

The couple, who have been together eight years, were with children Mark and Chloe and Jo's parents for their wedding at the Hilton Clearwater Beach resort and contacted Andy's mother Wendy on Thursday night to say that despite the approaching storm, everything had gone without a hitch.

But it wasn't until yesterday that they were able to get a message home to say they were okay.

Mrs Sears said: "I didn't really know about the hurricane until I called in the shop and one of the boys in there said he wondered how Andrew was getting on."

The pair from Barra Close, are due home on August 22.