Newlyweds tell of airport gun battle

Leigh-Anne hugs her mother as husband Scott looks on

A Scottish couple who were caught up in a rebel attack at Sri Lanka's international airport have arrived home.

Honeymooners Scott and Leigh-Anne Murray were waiting for a flight when separatist Tamil Tiger guerrillas began their assault.

The couple, from Elgin, said they had been left to fend for themselves when the fighting started.

The newlyweds were speaking after being met by family members on their return to Aberdeen Airport on Thursday.

You heard noises behind you and you really wanted to get away from them

Leigh-Anne Murray

They had to flee gunfire and explosions shortly after landing at Bandaranaike airport in Colombo following a flight from the Maldives.

Mrs Murray, 26, a graphic designer, said: "It wasn't until we were just coming out of the entrance that we heard mortars or bombs going off.

"But nobody was telling us why to get out, it was just a case that you heard noises behind you and you really wanted to get away from them."

Primary school teacher Mr Murray, 30, said the tourists had been left to look after themselves.

"Cars pulled up and stopped at us but just drove off again. Nobody was wanting to help you," said Mrs Murray.

"Now we are back I just want to get home to my family."

Planes were destroyed in the attack

Mrs Murray's relieved mother Aileen Scaife, also of Elgin, said she was thrilled to have her daughter and new son-in-law back home.

"It was pretty earth-shattering, but we spoke to them when they were in the hotel and knew they were all right.

"Once we knew they were back in the air, that was it you know, it was marvellous," she said.

The couple, who married in Elgin on 7 July, were part of the 47-strong group of Britons who flew back to the UK on Thursday after the Sri Lankan airport was reopened.

Eighteen people died in the strike by Tamil Tigers, timed to mark the anniversary of the start of a long-running civil war.

Aircraft damaged

None of the tourists, who fled and hid, were injured.

In 1983, mobs of Sri Lanka's Sinhalese majority killed 2,000 to 3,000 of the minority Tamils.

Military aircraft and 11 civilian planes, half the national fleet, were damaged or destroyed in the attack.

The Foreign Office has advised visitors to postpone trips to Sri Lanka.