A LITTLEBOROUGH couple say they are lucky to be alive after being caught up in Hurricane Ike.

Graham McDonald and Sharon Lane were forced to spend 16 hours sheltering in a disused army barracks as 130mph winds battered the Cuban resort of Guardalavaca.

The couple, of Shakespeare Close, were just three days into their £1,200 two-week all inclusive break at the Club Atlantico hotel when the hurricane struck.  Alongside 30 other tourists and hotel staff they fled to the nearby base just hours before the devastation began.

Graham, a manager at a felt manufacturing company, said: "All you could hear was howling wind, breaking glass and buildings collapsing.  The noise was unbelievable. All the power went off and everyone was huddling under blankets to protect them from broken glass. It was terrifying."

Sharon said: "It was the scariest thing I have ever experienced. I thought we were going to die."

But it was only when they emerged from the shelter that the scale of the damage became apparent.

Graham said: "The whole place was devastated. There were broken trees, glass, roof slates and power lines everywhere. I saw a catamaran which had been moored at sea propped up against a building 700 metres inland."

Four people died and tens of thousands of buildings were destroyed as a result of the hurricane, which went on to hit the Gulf coast of America. About 1.25 million people were also evacuated to shelters.

In the days after the storm the couple, who have three children from other relationships, were put up in a flooded holiday villa with three other couples as they tried to arrange transport home.

Water and power had been disconnected and they had to rely on aid drops provided by the army. They also gave away most of their clothes and toiletries to local people who helped them out.

Eventually they managed to catch a flight and landed at Manchester on Friday.

Graham added: "The Cuban people were fantastic. Many of them had lost their homes and livelihoods, but they still couldn’t do enough to help. The hurricane brought everyone together. The camaraderie was brilliant because we had to share things to survive. But the most important thing is that we are both safe and well."