A Leeds tourist who was holidaying in Rhodes has said he feared he was not “going to make it” home as wildfires spread across the Greek island.

Calum Westwood said he was “glad to be back” home when his return flight arrived in the UK on Sunday.

“We had ash dropping on our shoulders and there was a lot of smoke around,” he said after landing in Manchester.

Rescue efforts are taking place with Jet2 and easyJet planning repatriation flights on Monday and Tuesday.

Mr Westwood was holidaying in the Lindos area, but the island has been a hit by wildfires fanned by strong winds since Tuesday, as Europe deals with a challenging heatwave.

He said he had received “no information” from the travel operator and roads out of the area were blocked.

“The hotel just kept saying it’s going to be all right. And no one said anything.”

Mr Westwood said he managed to get to the airport but was worried he would not make the flight home.

“When we were waiting for a bus to be taken back to the airport we didn’t know if the bus transfers were being canceled or whether we were going to make it, because the smoke was coming over the hill and everyone was worried about the smoke damage,” he said.

Once at the airport, he joined about 1,000 other holidaymakers who were sleeping on the floor and had experienced flight delays of up to 12 hours in total, he said.

Arriving at Manchester Airport on Sunday, Mr Westwood said: “[We] were just laid on the marble floor with our bags.

“So we’re glad to be back.”

Holidaymakers James McMahon and his wife Danielle, both from Bradford, commended teenagers for helping them as they were evacuated from the hotel they were staying at in Pefkos.

He said the couple received an alert via the TV screen in their room and were led to a spot on the local beach.

“[We were] not extremely close to the fire, around three kilometers away, however we could see it burning just on the hills overlooking the sea with thick black smoke filling the sky.

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“We got to the beach and the people from our hotel were generally fine and very calm, which I can only put down to the hotel staff knowing what they were doing and leading with authority.”

Mr McMahon said he had witnessed “grown men [holidaymakers] fighting in the lobby” of the hotel as the evacuation was taking place.

In the early hours of the morning, the couple boarded a coach to a “makeshift camp” at a military base but were turned away because it was full, he said.

They were then driven for 90 minutes to a college in Rhodes city center where people were “sleeping on floors and on top of tables”.

“The college guys were handing out water, food, blankets, sleeping bags and taking down everyone’s information”, said Mr. McMahon.

“There must have been around 700 to 1,000 people. I cannot recommend them enough for what they did.

“The young 17 to 18-year-olds had more maturity than the grown men argued and pushed and shoved to get in before everyone else could.”

He said he and his wife had to sleep on a classroom floor “with around 15 other people” as they waited for a repatriation flight home.

In a statement, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said it was operating repatriation flights from Rhodes to Manchester, Leeds Bradford and Birmingham, while all flights to the island had been canceled until 30 July.

A spokesperson said: “We understand how difficult this experience has been for many, and our entire focus is on looking after our customers.

“We have a significantly expanded presence in Rhodes, with a huge team of experienced colleagues providing all the support we can for our customers, whether that is in affected areas or at Rhodes Airport.”

The company also said it was “keeping everything under constant review”.

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