'We're stranded in Dubai after Iran strikes'

A man and his wife have "no idea" when they will be able to return home from Dubai after their flight was cancelled following the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East.

Sean Howitt, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire had flown out to United Arab Emirates (UAE) with his partner to get "away from the weather" and they were due to return home on Tuesday.

Their flight is among dozens of cancelled flights after Iran launched attacks on the Gulf states as part of its retaliation following US and Israeli strikes that began early on Saturday.

Flights in and out of airports in Tel Aviv, Dubai, Doha and other international hubs in the region, are among those to have been suspended.

The UK Foreign Office has warned British citizens against all but essential travel to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. Those already there have been advised to take shelter.

Speaking to BBC Hereford and Worcester, Howitt said: "It's a stressful time, it's all a bit unnerving. We've just had information that our flight has been cancelled, we were due to come home tomorrow.

"So we have no idea when we're going to be able to get back and how. We just hope the whole situation sorts itself out as quickly as possible."

Asked when he first knew about the situation, he said: "Saturday, we were around the pool and we heard some bangs in the sky.

"Wasn't really sure what that was and then later in the day there were more explosions in the sky and we could see smoke.

"We later learnt this was missiles being intercepted."

The Bromsgrove man said one explosion in particular was so close it made the "windows move" in his hotel.

"We're just keeping an eye out for advice from the airlines and the UK Government on what to do next," he explained.

"It's not the holiday we'd hoped for. We hope to be home as soon as possible."

Ally Collishaw, from Lucton in Herefordshire, now lives in Dubai next to Al Minhad Air Base and praised authorities for making people feel safe.

She said: "All the explosions were just going off all over Dubai.

"Yesterday morning, they said they dealt with 165 ballistic missiles, two cruise missiles and 541 Iranian drones, this is from the ministry of defence.

"It has been a lot. There has been an awful lot of action, an awful lot of bombs going off and they've managed to destroy most of them.

"The UAE has been amazing, absolutely amazing. I think the general thought is that although this has all been going on we have felt totally protected."

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