Hotel lockdowns and honeymoon hit as Britons caught up in hurricane

For Rob Cuff and his wife Leah, their Jamaican honeymoon is coming to an uncertain end as Hurricane Melissa, the world's most powerful storm this year, bears down on the Caribbean island.

"I didn't sleep a lot last night as I kept an eye out to see if the storm was coming," Mr Cuff told the BBC from Montego Bay.

They are among the UK nationals on the island bracing themselves for what could be the most powerful storm ever to hit Jamaica.

The couple are due to fly back to the UK on Wednesday but the possibility of severe flooding as a result of the storm has left this uncertain.

Hurricane Melissa is forecast to bring "catastrophic and life-threatening conditions, and made landfall with with winds of up to 185mph (297km/h).

Some forecasters say the storm could remain a category five when it reaches the island in the coming hours.

Mr Cuff, from Telford, said their "hotel has been absolutely brilliant, and they have boarded up windows and taped up glass and have looked after us".

He added: "Yesterday evening, we had to leave our rooms and go to a safer building nearby."

The couple are not the only Britons in Jamaica celebrating a significant milestone.

Rebecca Chapman is in Jamaica for her 25th wedding anniversary and told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that she and her family have also been told not to leave their hotel room.

"There's this weird roar that sounds like it's coming from the sea. It's really odd, like something's coming. The birds have all gone so it's all gone really quiet. It's like a ghost town," she said.

Megan Barry, a primary school teacher from west London, is currently in Montego Bay. She flew to Jamaica on Saturday for a friend's birthday.

She told the BBC that the hotel she is in went into lockdown on Monday night and they have been advised to put mattresses against the windows. They have also packed their bags in case they need to be evacuated.

Another British family say they have prepared a "shelter" in the bathroom of their hotel room - with food, drink, spare clothing, bedding in there.

Brian Johnson, who is on holiday with his wife and wider family, said their focus is getting through unscathed.

"If we need help at any time during the main storm it is unlikely to be available, so we are essentially on our own."

He said they are extremely thankful to their local Jamaican hosts and staff, many of whom are staying at the hotel to support guests despite having families and properties to take care of.

Andrew Brearley and his wife Julia from Manchester came to Montego Bay for their 25th wedding anniversary. Their hotel is just 182m (600ft) away from the beach. What would have been a scenic view is now a constant reminder of what's looming.

As they sit in the bathroom of their hotel, he says "I just want to come out the other side of this storm".

Despite such uncertain times, like Mr Johnson they say the sense of community around the hotel is strong.

"The staff have been amazing, they haven't show any despair, they're doing everything they can to make sure we're safe and they're safe. The workers were given the choice to go or stay in the hotel, and a lot of them stayed."

Meanwhile, David Rowe and his family made the decision to leave their holiday in Montego Bay early and fly home to Hertfordshire on Monday because of the storm.

"We made the decision on Saturday morning that no matter what we have to get home for the safety of the children," he told the BBC.

"We can't believe that when we were leaving on Sunday there were flights landing full of holiday makers."

"It has been an emotional time," Mr Rowe said, adding that they "feel for anyone" still in Jamaica.

As well as British holidaymakers, the BBC has spoken to Britons anxiously watching from afar as their loved ones prepare for impact.

Among them is Jodi Jenny, who now lives in Northamptonshire but grew up in the Jamaican parish of St Mary and still has loved ones living there, including her grandfather.

She says that while the country is used to storms, she cannot remember one as bad as this is forecast to be since Hurricane Gilbert, which killed more than 300 people when it hit Jamaica in the 1980s.

"This is a bad one," Ms Jenny told BBC Radio Northampton.

"It's just tough. You can't do anything about it."

Donnalee Ellis is a care worker in London and is also worried about her family living in the parish of Manchester.

Like Ms Jenny, she was in Jamaica for Hurricane Gilbert and said the experience was "horrible", with "so much rain and wind, and houses falling apart".

"Gilbert was a lower category hurricane than Melissa so this is very frightening."

Beverly Lindsay is chairwoman of the UK-based Association of Jamaican Nationals, which is based in the UK, and says everyone is praying for those affected by the hurricane.

"We are concerned about our families and friends. The worst part of it is we've lost communication now so we're not able to call to find out what is going on at present," she told BBC Radio 5Live.

Dr Lindsay added that while Jamaica has been lucky in the past, only catching the tail of some major storms, there now appears to be a trend of the country getting battered by a hurricane every 37 years - first with Hurricane Charlie in 1951 and then Gilbert in 1988.

Alexander Williams, the High Commissioner of Jamaica to the United Kingdom expects the damage is going to be even more significant than Gilbert.

He says that recovering from the hurricane will rely not only on disaster response plans, contingency funds and insurance but overseas donations from the public.

"We are coordinating the response to the disaster here in the High Commission. We will establish points across the UK where people can go and donate according to a needs list which is being developed right now."

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says 24-hour consular services will be given to British nationals in Jamaica and that a dedicated crisis centre has been set up in the foreign office to help with this.

She urged UK nationals to heed Foreign Office travel advice and updates from the Jamaican government.

With additional reporting by Rozina Sini, Andree Massiah and Alex Emery.