A family's luxury holiday turned into a nightmare as they narrowly escaped raging wildfires in Rhodes which reduced their hotel to rubble.
Philip Bunning, 47, and his wife Louisa were one day into their £6,000 all-inclusive holiday on the Greek island when all hell broke loose.
The Taverham couple were also travelling with daughters Olivia, 13, and Lottie - whose 10th birthday was on Saturday, July 22.
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After noticing other tourists at the five-star Lindos Imperial resort packing up and leaving, the family rushed to pack their belongings while thick black smoke engulfed the hotel.
Signs of impending doom were apparent when they first arrived on the island on Friday, July 21.
Mr Bunning noticed ash falling into his drink and the smell of fire.
He said: "We got to the hotel on Friday, and as soon as we landed there was a smoky haze.
"When we had dinner it smelt like a burning chimney, and there was hot ash falling onto the table and sunbed towels."
Other tourists had received texts from holiday companies and had already started leaving.
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However, Mr Bunning and his family had been left in the dark and it was only after receiving a national government emergency message that they made the decision to flee the resort.
What followed next was a scene more akin to a disaster movie than a luxury holiday, as the family ran two miles along the beach to find safety while fire engines and helicopters rushed past them.
"We were being hurried by locals who told us to move as fast as possible, lugging our suitcases behind," Mr Bunning continued.
"We had to ditch all our luggage as the girls were struggling and when I turned behind I could see huge flames chasing us.
"I'll never forget Lottie's words when we were running: I don't want to die on my 10th birthday, dad."
Draping wet towels across their face to protect them from the intense fumes, the family found a small boat helping to rescue tourists from the area.
Carnage ensued as adults pushed past the couple's children to get on the boat in a "free for all".
Mr Bunning and his family managed to find a space on the boat but were shocked to see the entire island in flames behind them.
Videos on social media show the Lindos resort reduced to rubble by the fires which burned the hotel down shortly after guests had left.
"People think it's the fire that kills you, but the smoke is worse, we're lucky we managed to get out alive," said Paul.
They were taken to a basketball court in Lardos, where they were greeted by locals who handed them coffee and water while distributing supplies.
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Mr Bunning said: "It was a fight to even get a mattress for the kids. I saw two girls physically fight to get a bed, they were calling each other all kinds of names under the sun.
"You had to fight to get what you needed and if you went to the toilet you'd have to take all your stuff, otherwise you'd come back to nothing."
Halfway into their second night at the court, a representative from holiday firm Tui offered them four seats on a flight back to Gatwick.
They had still heard nothing from Jet2, the company they'd originally booked the holiday with.
The couple arrived in England at 8.30am on Monday - three days after the nightmare began - with no luggage and were forced to pay £200 for a taxi to their Taverham home.
A spokesperson for Jet2 has been contacted for comment.
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