THE family of a Warrington man left stranded after Hurricane Rita have told of their agony as they wait for news.

Dad-of-two Julian Richard Stoll, from Lake Charles, Louisiana, last made contact with his wife, June, via e-mail on Saturday morning.

He told her that he had left the oil refinery where he worked and was staying in a room on the ninth floor of a hotel in Lafayette.

He said that when he tried to return to his car, he found it six feet under water.

His parents, Brian, aged 69, and Joan, aged 68, who live on Wilderspool Causeway, now face an anxious wait for news of his whereabouts.

June, and the couple's two sons, travelled 450 miles to safety from the family home while he remained on the oil refinery he manages on West Lake, making sure his employees were safe.

June then drove a further 400 miles to St Louis, Missouri, fearing she and the children might still be in the path of the storm.

The couple, who have two sons - Michael, aged six, and three-year-old Robbie - relocated to the USA from Warrington five years ago.

Mum Joan said: "June has been helping with supplying aid to the 51,000 evacuees who came to Lake Charles from New Orleans.

"We were watching the weather reports about Hurricane Rita and we realised it was heading straight for Lake Charles.

"June told us she'd started packing up the car with supplies and took the boys to safety. Julian stayed at the refinery until Friday when he tried to get as far away as possible.

"They expect their home to be devastated and they were moving house at the time so chances are their new house is ruined too. But, of course, these are just material things, our main concern is that they are all okay.

"At the moment we've no idea where Julian is and whether he's still at the hotel. It's a very worrying time playing the waiting game because we're not getting any information from the television about the refineries or about the extent of the damage in his part."

She added: "June and the boys are fine and they're confident that Julian will be ok too. There have been no reports of any fatalities in Louisiana so we're praying everything will turn out okay."