A north-east family has revealed they were forced to flee their home after a huge forest fire broke out in Benidorm.
More than 300 firefighters tackled the blaze near Valencia, which is believed to have been started deliberately on Sunday.
As the hours went by, the flames spread towards populated areas of Cumbre del Sol.
Yesterday, Lynette and George Reilly, who emigrated to the east of Spain from the Granite City 18 months ago with 10-year-old son Nathan, described the moment they were told it was time to go.
Mrs Reilly said: “We heard about the fires at around 5pm. By midnight we realised it was serious and I knew there was a chance we would have to leave our home.
“We were asked to leave at about 6.30am but we had bags already packed and ready to go.
“Our first thought was to get our friends out of the house as well as our two dogs. We have never been so scared”
The family’s home is on top of a hill and Mrs Reilly’s main concern was “getting off the hill and escaping”.
She added: “There’s only two roads out of the area we live in.”
The family was able to return home on Monday night with no damage, and Mrs Reilly said they knew they were lucky after seeing the “devastation” caused.
Another Aberdeen family caught up in the fire, Josh Murray and Ester Garcia, were visiting family in the Javea area with two-year-old son, Asher, when the drama unfolded.
Mr Murray said: “We were having supper when we saw smoke and helicopters dropping water, but we didn’t think anything of it.
“I was shocked and there was so much smoke”.
The family is not sure of the damage to the house they were staying at as of yet, however they know a shed Miss Garcia’s father owned was destroyed.
