A COUPLE started married life by finding themselves in the centre of a devastating hurricane in Cuba.

Eifion and Hayley Richards were forced to spend part of their honeymoon in the hotel bathroom fighting to hold the door shut and keep themselves safe from Hurricane Ike.

The newlyweds, who live in Meavy Close, Loudwater, had to be evacuated from their hotel room following the terrifying experience, which saw the patio door ripped off its hinges and thrown across the room.

The Richards flew out to the Caribbean on September 2 and started to realise something might be wrong when they heard children talking about a hurricane coming.

On Sunday, all the holidaymakers on the Playa Pesquero resort in Holguin, were called to a meeting at 3pm and told to barricade themselves in their bathroom as Hurricane Ike was going to hit.

Hayley, 26, a custody assistant at High Wycombe Police Station, said: “It was around 11 o’clock that it got really bad, we were in the bathroom and heard a humungous bang.

“We were both fighting to keep the bathroom door shut. We were both desperately trying to keep shut, it was very scary.”

After the hurricane had passed, the couple, who met five years ago, were moved into a member of staff’s room.

Eifion, 30, who is European manager of a fitness manufacturing company, said: “They couldn’t get us into a room and the storm was coming again and we were running around trying to find a room but eventually they put us in a staff room and we were safe.

“I have never had an experience like it before, but then I guess few have.”

Despite part of the resort being destroyed, with some are the apartments roofs being ripped off, food was still provided for the guests and even a disco was held.

Mr and Mrs Richards, who have a son Dylan, two, returned home on Wednesday and, in spite of what happened, plan to return to Cuba.

Hayley said: “We swam with with dolphins and then had to deal with a hurricane so it wasn’t a normal honeymoon. It was certainly an experience.”