TWO friends from Chulmleigh have described their holiday nightmare amid floods on the Portuguese island of Madeira.

Pam Lockwood, 67, and Michael Anning, 63, had booked a two week holiday in the island's capital Funchal.

During the £2,350 Saga holiday Madeira experienced torrential rain which brought tonnes of mud and stones down the slopes of the island and caused several towns to flood.

At least 40 people died in the floods and more than 120 people were injured.

Pam and Michael were due to head out on a coach for an excursion.

The coach, with 24 people on, left their hotel but when they got to the next village Pam said the water was raging on the roads and rocks had began falling from the mountainous roads.

Eventually the bus became stuck and passengers were left stranded on the vehicle for an hour and a half.

Pam said: "Boulders and rocks started falling from above and were landing near to the coach. The water underneath was raging and about one or two feet deep."

Pam decided to get off the bus and was soon followed by all the other passengers.

She said: "Some of the group were over 80, but we managed to wade across the raging water. We found a fence around a football stadium and were all holding on for our lives."

Some local boys came to the group's rescue, pulling all the passengers over the six feet tall fence.

The group remained in the football stadium for more than two hours until the pitch began to flood.

Eventually they were picked up and taken to another hotel, but Pam described the journey as horrific. The vehicle had to avoid boulders and rocks and travelled over bridges with raging rivers.

The group made it to the new hotel at around 5pm, covered in mud, hungry and dehydrated.

They were given showers and robes and then taken back to their original hotel.

Pam said the group was terrified of going out again as they were all in shock. She is angry with Saga for allowing the group to go out that day and said: "The whole holiday was horrible and a tremendous waste of money. Since being back I have been suffering from stress, anxiety and had terrible nightmares."

Carl Catterall, Saga's travel communications manager said: "We are sorry Mrs Lockwood felt the need to complain. The events in Madeira were unexpected, both locals and tourists were affected.

"Our tour guide and other staff on the Island did their very best for our customers including finding alternative hotel accommodation. They have been warmly praised for their actions by other Saga holidaymakers."