Horror of family caught in Egypt suicide bombing (From Warrington Guardian)

Horror of family caught in Egypt suicide bombing

IT wasn't the start to a holiday that a Lostock woman had imagined when three suicide bombers targeted an Egyptian resort.

On her second night in Egypt, Jacqui Naughton, of Paulden Road, was in Sharm el Sheikh with her son Carl and his girlfriend Emma Owen when the bombers struck.

Jacqui, 40, Carl, 19 and Emma 21, were staying at the Cleopatra Hotel - which is not far from the old market - when she heard the bombs explode.

She said: "I thought fireworks were loud but this was horrific. I can't quite describe how loud it was. It was frightening.

"Everyone was terrified. People were running around in different directions. No one knew where to go to be safe. It was such a shock.

"The Egyptians were picking people up in their cars and taking them away from the affected areas.

"They were fantastic."

Jacqui, Carl and Emma spent all night sitting in their hotel, watching what had happened on the news.

Bills

And the family are not happy after their mobile phone bills for calls to and from worried relatives and friends totalled almost £600.

Jacqui added: "They are only a young couple.

"The phone company knew the calls were from Egypt, which was a disaster area.

"We didn't want relatives waking up to hear what had happened and not knowing whether we were safe.

"I thought they might have dropped the bill by 10 per cent in the circumstances but they just didn't want to know.

"It wasn't just us. Hundreds of people spent the whole night on their phones."

A spokesman from O2 mobile company said they were willing to look into Jacqui's case again.

He said: "Our policy is to treat each case on its own merits.

"We do treat these cases with sensitivity - rather than apply a rule across the board - depending on the circumstances.

He added: "We would be happy to review this case again."

The family stayed in Egypt to continue their holiday.