A couple have told how they cheated death when a hurricane struck their hotel during a holiday from hell.

Martin Rickards, 41, and Emma Jeacock, 26, booked the trip to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic to celebrate their engagement.

It was Miss Jeacock's first holiday abroad - and the first holiday for Mr Rickards since he fell off a cliff in Africa four years ago when he was left in a semi coma for months.

The night before Mr Rickards's 41st birthday on September 16 they were hit by the first wave of hurricane Jeanne which returned at full force the next day.

The hotel was severely damaged left without electricity.

The couple, of Sherwood Way, Southend, were forced to shelter with other guests in the hotel foyer until they flew back to England.

They said they were lucky they changed rooms after the first night because otherwise it could have been even worse.

Mr Rickards, a safety inspector until he fell off the cliff four years ago, said: "Changing rooms saved our lives.

"If we had stayed in that room we would have died. Eleven people died in the area as a result of the hurricane. If we hadn't complained about the room we would've been among them."