A FAMILY holidaying in Florida have told how they have had to evacuate their hotel and have driven hundreds of miles to escape Hurricane Irma.

The massive storm has already wreaked havoc in the Caribbean and is now heading for the US mainland.

The death toll from Irma has risen to 20 with four more people believed to have died on the British Virgin Islands, it is reported.

US President Donald Trump warned Americans in Irma's path to "get out of its way".

He tweeted: "Hurricane Irma is of epic proportion, perhaps bigger than we have ever seen. Be safe and get out of its way, if possible."

The family, who are from East Cleveland but do not want to be identified, were staying in Fort Myers in the south west of the Sunshine state where they had been for the past week.

They have since travelled further north to Kissimmee.

Speaking from there on Friday night, they told The Northern Echo: "Local TV are currently saying it's probably headed for the west coast of Florida but the cone will cover the whole of the state, with possibly serious damage.

"We have had two mandatory evacuations. Gas and hotel rooms are in short supply.

"We have had to evacuate twice now and have driven hundreds of miles. Luckily we have got gas and hotels booked. It's a waiting game at the moment. Everything is going to be closed down.

"Supermarket shelves have been stripped of water and are closing in some areas and Disney is closing for two days."

The National Hurricane Centre said the storm is likely to move near the north coast of Cuba and central Bahamas on Friday and Saturday, and approach Florida by Sunday.

Life-threatening wind, rain and a storm surge are expected in the Turks and Caicos Islands into Saturday.