Rhodes fires: Scots tourists sleep on street as blazes spread

Scottish tourists have told how they have had to sleep on the street after wildfires spread across the Greek island of Rhodes.

One couple from Kilmarnock were forced to sleep outdoors on a mattress after their hotel was evacuated.

Rhodes has been hit by wildfires fanned by strong winds since Tuesday as Europe deals with a challenging heatwave.

Evacuation efforts are taking place with EasyJet planning repatriation flights on Monday and Tuesday.

Holiday firm Jet2 is also sending planes to bring its customers back.

Another evacuation order was issued for parts of Corfu, some 1,027km (670 miles) miles away, on Sunday evening.

The deputy mayor of Rhodes, Athanasios Vyrinis, has warned that there are not enough essentials for visitors.

Reports now suggest about 19,000 people have been evacuated by land and sea.

A further 1,200 will be evacuated from three villages - Pefki, Lindos and Kalathos.

The Greek fire brigade said the situation on the island is one of the most difficult it has faced and warned it could worsen.

Tourists have been left in limbo after holiday company Jet2 cancelled all flights to and from Rhodes up to and including 30 July, while TUI cancelled all flights there until Wednesday.

Hundreds of thousands of British tourists flock to the popular holiday destination every year.

Many had to abandon their belongings and flee on foot in extreme heat as fires spread from the centre of the Greek island towards its eastern coast, where many resort hotels are situated.

Nicola McCullen, 46, from Kilmarnock, slept on a mattress in the street after arriving late on Saturday night on a TUI flight from Glasgow to Rhodes.

Ms McCullen's partner had taken her away on holiday to celebrate her getting a new job.

She told the BBC she has now been taken to an evacuation centre but feels like she has been "dumped" and described TUI as "atrocious".

She told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland TUI had provided them with no information.

"We don't know anything. It's quite soul destroying.

"I want to come home. We're so tired, we're drained, we're dirty. We've not been able to get a decent wash.

"The holiday's ruined, so we just want home."

Ms McCullen had said on Sunday the evacuation centre had no washing facilities and described the toilets as "atrocious".

She also said they had not been able to sleep because there had been ants "all over the place".

However she praised locals who provided water, fruit and food.

She said: "I can't thank the Greek locals enough. They've got enough to deal with. This is a big tragedy and they've looked after us very well.

Four friends from Glasgow told how the first time they realised the severity of the situation was when they saw people "fleeing" as their taxi drove up to a closed-off road near their accommodation in Lindos.

They were allowed to pass through but later received a text from the Greek government telling to get out of the area and head further north up the island.

Niamh Watt said they joined other tourists to a meeting point where there were buses to take people to safety.

She said: "We got on the bus not knowing where we were going to and it took us to a hotel further up the coast where we spent the night in a conference room along with hundreds of other tourists.

"At this point we were told the hotel was shut for the night, so none of us had any idea of what the next step would be."

Madeleine Woods added: "At that point we were relying on our own analysis of the situation because we weren't given any sort of guidance from the local authorities or the government.

"So we decided to book an Airbnb in what seemed a safe spot. That's where we are now and we'll be here until the fires stop."

Lesley Young - who arrived in Lindos from Edinburgh on Saturday morning - said they could not go to their hotel because it had been evacuated.

Despite having holiday insurance worth £2,000 to use for alternative accommodation, Ms Young said she was initially unable to find anything.

"We were taken to the sister hotel of the one we booked and they have set up mattresses on the floor of one of their conference rooms.

"They have really tried to do the best they can."

Ms Young, who is on holiday as a group of seven including three children and four adults, were later evacuated to the town of Faliraki.

She said they had a two-week holiday booked but was unsure if they would stay that long.

"Luckily we have our luggage," she added.

Deputy mayor Mr Vyrinis said: "There is only water and some rudimentary food - we don't have mattresses and beds."

Speaking to Open TV from an assembly point, the deputy mayor said people were using cardboard boxes to sleep in and people arriving in Rhodes had nowhere to stay.

No injuries have been reported, according to the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection in Greece.

It said tourists are being evacuated safely from the affected areas - which represents less than 10% of the island's tourist accommodation - and are being redirected to other hotels on the island.