'Missiles were blowing up right above us'

British citizens stranded in Dubai have described seeing and hearing explosions overhead while being unable to leave, as fighting breaks out in the Middle East.

John Gifford from Ward End, Birmingham, was turned around at the airport due to travel restrictions placed in the wake of retaliatory strikes by Iran on the Gulf state.

He described a calm airport with delayed and eventually cancelled flights, leading to a chaotic process of retrieving luggage.

"We got to the boarding gateway to get on the plane and then it all went down rapidly", Gifford said, describing the situation as "a nightmare".

Thousands of British tourists are stranded as several Gulf states shut their airspaces. The Foreign Office has advised against all travel to the region and government officials are understood to be formulating plans to evacuate UK nationals.

"We have heard a couple of like thuds of bombs and we had an alarm come up on the phone to say take shelter," Gifford said.

"We're in the Dubai business district but it's a bit like a ghost town."

The Birmingham local said he planned to stay calm, stay inside, and keep going, adopting a "stiff upper lip" attitude.

Trevor Davis and his wife Lisa, from Tamworth, are also stranded in Dubai after celebrating her birthday.

"We tried to celebrate it as best as we could, but under the circumstances, it was a bit somber," Trevor Davis said.

The US and Israel struck Iran on Saturday, killing the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Explosions were heard across multiple Iranian cities including the capital, Tehran, after negotiations to limit Iran's nuclear programme ended without an agreement.

Iran launched retaliatory strikes, according to Israel's military, with explosions heard and attacks reported in several other countries in the region with US facilities.

Trevor Davis said he was by the hotel pool when he heard noise in the distance, he was initially unsure what it was, adding "even the hotel staff looked perplexed".

"But the next thing I could see missiles flying over, which were intercepted and blowing up right above us.

"Shrapnel came down around us, part of it landing in the hotel fountain, it was scary at that point.

"We were all running for cover to get inside the hotel. It was not the birthday I had planned for her," he said.

Birmingham-based lawyer Chrissie Wolfe, whose family live in Coventry, splits her time between the West Midlands and Dubai Marina.

She said: "We got a notification through our phones on Saturday night, to make sure we shelter in place and stay indoors and away from any windows. Most people have stuck by that since then."

As a result of the warning, she said she had slept on the floor of her hallway over the weekend.

"That was quite a strange experience, sleeping in the hallway and hearing sonic booms overhead, not knowing where they're going."

On Saturday she said she saw missle interceptions over the marina, adding: "It is certainly scary to witness something like that. I think you feel in disbelief, seeing something like happen in front of you."

Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.