'All the children were terrified'

As thousands of British nationals are evacuated from Lebanon in a massive air and sea operation, evacuees on board the Royal Navy assault ship HMS Bulwark tell of their experiences.

Evacuees were taken from the quayside in Beirut to safety

Evacuees were crammed into corridors and wardrobes as every open space on board the HMS Bulwark was used to carry Britons fleeing the fighting in Lebanon.

Among them was Michelle Zighondi, 35, travelling with her two sons, aged eight and six.

Mrs Zighondi is seeking refuge at her parents' home in Billericay, Essex, until the worst of the bombing subsides.

She said the Israelis had bombed some communities on the coast which had installed panic. People in her village of Amsiht had become too frightened to leave their homes, she said.

"All the children were terrified once that happened, everyone has been hiding away in their houses. The Lebanese are terrified."

We couldn't stay any longer Michelle Zighondi

Mrs Zighondi has been forced to leave her Lebanese husband Ziad, 38, behind as he runs his own business and cannot afford to leave.

"He didn't come, he couldn't come. He has got to work as he has his own business. But we had to leave, we couldn't stay any longer," she said.

Mrs Zighondi, who has lived in Lebanon for 10 years, said food supplies were dwindling and supermarket shelves were emptying and other essentials, such as gas and petrol, were also becoming scarce.

Martin and Denise Carlin, from Burnley in Lancashire, were on holiday visiting family when the violence broke out. Their daughter and her family had got out on an earlier ship.

Mrs Carlin, 48, said: "It has been a proper nightmare. It was a war zone."

It was the grown-ups who were frightened Denise Carlin

"Our daughter lives 10 minutes from the airport and it felt like the bombing was on top of us, it was frightening.

"We heard the jets going over us, a small noise and then silence - we didn't know if it was coming straight for us."

Mrs Carlin said their three grandchildren slept through the air strikes. "It was the grown-ups who were frightened," she said.

Her husband, a 53-year-old scaffolder, said they saw three days of bombing before moving out of the capital to try to find a safe haven.

He said they had heard rumours about navy ships coming to rescue Britons and went down to the port.

Mrs Carlin added: "I cannot wait to put that key in the door, it will be heaven." Linda Osman was on holiday with her Lebanese husband, Sobi, and their sons Mohamed, 13, and Majed, 12.

First we heard the bombs and then we saw some smoke Majed Osman

The Osmans, from Ealing, west London, arrived the day before violence broke out and have been staying with family in the mountains from where they could hear and see the violence.

Majed said: "First we heard the bombs and then we saw some smoke.

"During the night we heard all these planes and all these bombs.

"I wasn't too bothered as all the parents and my uncle said there was no point for the Israelis to come and bomb us in the mountains."

Mrs Osman said they had spent a frustrating eight days deciding what to do and had considered driving to Syria.

"I feel totally frustrated and sad," she said.

"I have been coming here every year since 1988. I was married here and the country has been getting better and better."