'We barricaded ourselves in after missile strikes'
Hollie HillA mother has described how she and her family have been forced to barricade themselves inside their hotel room during missile strikes in the Middle East.
Hollie Hill, from Lincoln, who is on holiday in the United Arab Emirates' capital Abu Dhabi with her husband, three children, mother and mother-in-law, said she had heard and seen a number of explosions in recent days as Iranian missiles were intercepted overhead.
Iran launched strikes across the region in response to attacks by the United States and Israel.
Hollie said: "It's a scary situation to be in at the moment. Now, you're just living on tenterhooks thinking 'am I going to hear another bang?'"
Hollie and her family arrived in Abu Dhabi on 23 February and said they had been "having the time of our lives" until missiles began being intercepted nearby.
She said they were at a water park when they first saw the missiles flying overhead.
"When we heard the first three bangs, we just thought it was the water slides at the water park," she said.
Speaking on BBC Radio Humberside, she said it was "absolutely terrifying" when she received a phone alert about an imminent missile threat and after seeing and hearing them for the first time, added: "That is absolutely a thing I will never get out of my head.
"I don't think the kids will ever get it out of theirs."
Hollie HillHollie said holidaymakers have only been allowed to eat outside again in the past couple of days.
The pools have also reopened but they have been told to proceed with caution.
She said her family have chosen to stay indoors. She said: "It's the kids that are terrified... it doesn't leave their heads.
"You're trying to stay as calm as possible for their sake."
Hollie, who was born in Grimsby, said there were seven people in one bedroom at one point because they were told to shelter.
"We all, as stupid as it sounds, had mattresses up at the window... and then we just all sat and rode it out in the bedroom together.
"It sounds really bad, but if we were together, worst case scenario, we were all together."
The family were due to travel home on Monday but Hollie said she was not hopeful the flights would go ahead.
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