A FAMILY from Stratton had the holiday from hell after an earthquake rocked their resort in Kos just hours after they arrived.

Matt Doyle was ready to enjoy a relaxing week abroad with his wife Nicola and their 14-year-old son Corey at the Kipriotis Village Resort but experienced a devastating 6.7-magnitude quake which killed at least two people and injured 100 more.

They booked into the hotel on the Greek island at 2pm on Thursday local time and disaster struck at 1.31am on Friday, which was 10.31pm on Thursday in the UK.

Matt said: “Suddenly, there was this very loud crashing, all the walls and the ceiling were violently shaking from side to side and stuff was falling over.

“It lasted 30 seconds, it was like being on a rollercoaster, we thought the walls would cave in or the floor would collapse, it was pure dread.

“There were two more similar tremors moving our first-floor room around, then when it stopped we could hear screaming.

“Nicola looked out over the balcony and the water in the pool had gone everywhere and the tiles were cracked.

“We were told to go into the car park so we grabbed what we could and went outside.

“Nobody knew what was going on, people were stumbling around half-asleep, kids were crying, everyone was in their dressing gowns, it was surreal and eerie.”

They experienced a series of smaller tremors before a 4.4-magnitude aftershock occurred an hour and a half after the hotel was evacuated.

Several buildings were damaged but the hotel held firm and no-one was injured at the resort.

After initially attempting to book a flight home, the Doyles have decided to finish their holiday.

Matt added: “We haven’t slept and people are now starting to go back into the hotel, though we’ll sleep in the car park just in case - I don’t fancy going through that again!

“Corey was in the same room as us on a bunk bed as he has health issues, he’s very shocked but we all got out safely, thankfully.

“Nicola was very strong, I was more scared than anyone else.”

“We’re all very shaken up at the moment, people are trying to relax but what happened is still on our minds, the slightest noise or movement makes everyone freeze.”

The two killed in Kos were crushed by debris caused by the earthquake in the Aegean Sea, which also injured dozens in Bodrum in Turkey.