Eye of the 185mph hurricane

Britons shelter in hotels as Melissa pummels Jamaica

- By George Lithgow

Powerful...tree uprooted in St Catherine, Jamaica. Right, Andrew Tracey

BRITISH tourists sheltered in hotels last night as deadly Hurricane Melissa battered Jamaica, shutting all of its airports.

Up to 8,000 UK citizens are on the Caribbean island where residents were ordered to stay inside as the biggest storm of the year made landfall with an estimated maximum wind speed of 185mph, said the US National Hurricane Center.

The Jamaican government has ordered evacuations from high-risk areas.

Andrew Tracey's UK flight home was cancelled and he was told to stay in his bathroom. He told Sky News that food was delivered to guests, sunbeds were removed and pools drained at his hotel in Negril.

The holidaymaker added: "The balcony and walls do feel as though they are vibrating just due to the strength of the wind.

"I'm very nervous, it's hard to comprehend what we are likely to expect."