A regional press reporter has told of the terrifying moment when she became caught up in a hurricane drama in Majorca.

Flintshire Evening Leader journalist Sue Smart was at Palma airport ready to return to the UK from the holiday island when winds of more than 180kph struck.

Flights were grounded and Sue was among hundreds of British tourists left stranded, fearing for their lives, and forced to watch as the storm closed in.

Now safely back home, Sue said the hurricane - which resulted in 20 people on the island being injured - was among the most terrifying experiences of her life.

She said: "I have been in force 10 winds in Greece and a category two cyclone in North Queensland, and the storm in Majorca was the most dramatic of them all.

"The storm came in exceptionally fast, hit with a vengeance and then was gone in a relatively quick space of time."

Sue said as she arrived at the airport she had noticed some clouds over the mountains which looked ominous, but did not give them too much thought.

But in the matter of a minute the sky went completely dark.

She said: "It went from day to night in a flash. Then there was lightning, very closely followed by thunder.

"Our plane was due to leave and we were afraid at first that they might send us up in it."

As the storm set in Sue and her fellow travellers noticed the airport beginning to flood, and they were forced to sit tight until the storm passed and flights were restored.

She said: "It was terrifying. The building was shaking and water was coming in everywhere. It was all over the floor and they were trying to catch it with black plastic bags, but there was just so much of it.

"When we got on the plane, the captain warned us to expect a bumpy journey, and I spent the whole flight on edge waiting for us to hit the storm, but in the end it was an absolutely perfect flight."