A TEESSIDE family sheltered under a mattress in a wardrobe as Hurricane Irma wreaked destruction on the British Virgin Islands.

Clare Chilton, her husband and their two children were holed up in their rented home in Tortola for more than 24 hours during the category five storm.

The Northern Echo:

Hadley, Sofia, George and Clare Chilton. Picture: CLARE CHILTON

They propped a mattress on the upper shelves of the walk-in cupboard and placed another one over their heads during the height of the storm.

Ms Chilton, originally from Middlesbrough, said she felt like "one of the lucky ones" after being rescued and evacuated to Puerto Rico, along with three-year-old son George and seven-year-old daughter Sofia.

Her husband Hadley, 39, an accountant for Baker Tilly, has remained on the island to assist with the relief effort.

Ms Chilton, 40, told the Press Association: "I managed to escape and that was through the help of various friends who we didn't even know five minutes before.

"Everyone has just bandied together and got each other out of each other's houses.

"We were very lucky because we didn't see anything, because we wanted to keep the children as sheltered as possible.

"Whereas I've got other friends who were running from one room to the other, amid crashing windows and swirling furniture moving around - as though there was an actual tornado in their actual house."

The family, who have lived on Tortola for the last two years, took shelter at 8.30pm on September 5 and did not emerge until around 6.30am on September 7, the day after the hurricane.

Ms Chilton said: "It was just shock when we actually got out of our den and you saw the devastation and my landlady who lived below us, she came upstairs and she just started bawling her eyes out.

"This was her family home that she built eight years ago."

She added: "Going through and climbing over the rubble, and just seeing people pouring out of their houses - it was like a film. It wasn't the island that we know and love."

The family were freed from their home with the help of local construction firm EMCS, who also provided them with shelter and food.

Ms Chilton, who has since been evacuated to Puerto Rico, said she felt "guilty" to have been moved to safety, adding: "I'm one of the lucky ones, I've managed to escape.

"What I'm worried about now is how the people who are there are going to be looked after - that's my main concern."

Ms Chilton, who must now decide whether to move back to the UK or relocate to the Cayman Islands, criticised the "shoddy" response of the British Government to the disaster.

But she said Sir Richard Branson, who lives in the British Virgin Islands, seemed "very positive" about getting the area "back on track" during a meeting held at her hotel.

She said: "Coming out of the meeting with Branson yesterday everyone was buoyed and positive that we are going to be able to do this."