I’ve been left imprisoned in a hotel as Greek islands are battered by floods – it’s like being in a refugee camp

A MUM trapped on a Greek holiday has told of her horror at being "imprisoned" in a flooded hell hotel after Storm Daniel brought biblical floods to the region this week.

Rachel Royce is one of hundreds of Brits who were stranded in the Mediterranean as flights were cancelled due to the horrendous weather conditions.

The 51-year-old from London had already spent a week in the Italian city of Bari with her partner before flying over to Skiathos for their seven-day holiday.

Once there, they met up with Rachel's two sons and proceeded to enjoy their week in the sun.

However, the storms began to hit as they were due to leave and it wasn't long before everything began to spiral out of control.

Rachel and her family were meant to return to the UK on Monday until Jet2 cancelled their flights as a result of the heavy storms.

The family were split up and were randomly allocated to new hotels as a temporary solution to cancelled flights.

Torrential rainfall was causing flash floods throughout the island and local authorities took the decision to clamp down on both tourists and locals from venturing outside by implementing curfews.

Rachel claims that this left holiday goers feeling “imprisoned” throughout Skiathos.

She told The Sun: “The Mayor of Skiathos was trying to declare an emergency situation and we now get alarms on our phones to let us know about any storms or curfews.

“A beep will go off and then you’ll often be sent a text saying there’s going to be another 24 hour curfew.

“We’ve had several alarms since we’ve been here and they say that everyone must remain in their hotels.

"People are feeling imprisoned because we can't leave or do anything.

"Imagine that. Coming on holiday and feeling imprisoned in your hotel."

Concerned about her son's, Rachel went and visited one of them at another hotel, but then required help getting back to her own when attempting to leave.

A flash flood river had formed and cut off her route out of the hotel, but she spotted a fire engine pumping water and approached them for help.

However, local authorities have been strict on people leaving hotels and Rachel was left shocked at the response she got from a member of the fire brigade.

She said: “There was a fire engine outside desperately trying to pump water and I went to see them and ask if I could get across.

“But I was told off by one of them who said: 'You mustn't leave, this is an emergency, this is dangerous, you’re safe in the hotel'.”

“They were all really strict and angry with me. They were all raging.”

Rachel’s hotel managed to provide meals for everyone despite the conditions but it didn’t take long for supplies to get very low.

And conditions quickly began to worsen as the weather continued to wreak havoc across the island, with hotels feeling like “refugee camps”.

Rachel said: “There was no electricity or running water and toilets wouldn't flush.

“People were having to sleep in the lobby because their rooms were flooded.

“It was like a refugee camp for people who were meant to be having a nice holiday.

“There was no internet so nobody could contact anyone.

“People were worried about whether there was going to be any food or water.

“There was no electricity or flushing toilets so it wasn’t nice.”

Rachel eventually managed to get repatriation flights with Jet2.

However, she had to fork out a fortune when flying her son's out to the island with British Airways, after Jet2 cancelled their flights last week.

“This holiday has ended up costing me twice as much as it had in the first place. It’s been a disaster.

“I might have to take money out of my pension to cover this, it’s just been awful.”

Last month, 500 flight cancellations as a result of an air traffic meltdown saw thousands of holidaymakers stranded at airports across the UK.

Families were forced to sleep on trolleys and airport floors due to the impact of the Majorca storms.