HOLIDAYMAKERS from South Lakeland have been lashed by a hurricane that has killed dozens of people and caused chaos in the Caribbean, reports Andy Bloxham.

Richard Hadwin, 58, of Dunmail Drive, Kendal, treated himself and his wife Mary, 59, to a Barbados holiday after he endured two years of cancer treatment, only to face a hurricane.

Mr Hadwin, a former coach at Netherfield Cricket Club, who has had 900 hours of chemotherapy, said: "I've had a rough two years and I didn't expect a hurricane on holiday."

Hurricane Ivan has rampaged through the Caribbean for two weeks with 165mph (266km/h) winds flattening homes, disrupting power supplies and has killed at least 65 people.

The Hadwins intended to celebrate their 36th wedding anniversary on the island but, as Mrs Hadwin said: "We got more than we bargained for."

After they got to their hotel, in Oistins, outside Bridgetown, Barbados, they were barricaded in a two-bedroom apartment with eight others, including a honeymooning couple.

Mrs Hadwin said waiting for the arrival of the hurricane was nerve-wracking: "Not knowing what was going to happen was the worst thing."

When Hurricane Ivan arrived, Mr Hadwin, a former K Shoes worker, said it was "like a jet engine winding up and screaming for nine hours".

In the hotel lobby, dozens of people sheltering from the winds had to sleep on sun loungers after they were evacuated from beach huts. "It was a siege atmosphere," said Mr Hadwin, adding that he saw a pool table flipped over and a petrol station roof ripped clean off.

A little earlier, in the worst hit island, Grenada, Ian Ferguson, 42, and his wife Carol, 48, of Hawthorn Gardens, Kendal, sheltered in their hotel as the storm raged around them. Mr and Mrs Ferguson decided their brick-built bathroom offered them the best protection from the onrushing hurricane.

"I don't know how long we were in there, possibly an hour. There was a hell of a lot of banging and crashing outside. It was scary," said Mr Ferguson.

When the wind died a little, the couple looked outside through shutters in the bathroom to see shattered roof tiles, twisted and mangled metal sheeting from roofs and pieces of wood all around. But Ivan had not finished with them; the eye of the storm had passed directly over the couple and, around dusk, the hurricane returned with renewed venom.

Winds picked up to a reported 145mph (233kph), and Mr Ferguson peeked from his shelter to see gusts plucking eight-inch diameter branches from trees one after the other and "bits and pieces flying round all over the place".

Outside, power lines were dragging in pools of rainwater and in the hotel corridors solid wood doors lay in splinters.

He said: "It was literally like a bomb had hit the place. It was carnage, absolute carnage and only through sheer luck that nobody got hurt."

Mr Ferguson claimed the agents they used, The Travel Collection, a member of the Kuoni family' of companies, had "endangered people's lives" by not turning them back at Heathrow airport and only handing them a paper on arrival, warning the storm was due to hit in two hours.

Kuoni press manager Ann-Marie Hansen said: "When the Fergusons left on September 6, Hurricane Ivan was heading for Barbados and Grenada just had a tropical storm.

"While they were on the flight, it changed direction and then Grenada was put on hurricane warning.

"Clients' safety is the most important thing to us," she said, adding that their paperwork proved the reps had done their job.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office are warning against all but essential travel to Grenada and advise checking with tour operators before travelling.

If you are worried about friends or family in the Caribbean, call the FCO on 020-7008-1500.