HOLIDAYMAKERS watched their dream trip go up in smoke when they were forced to flee a blaze which left them fearing for their lives in Turkey.

Mother and daughter Kathy Moores and Kelli Evans, who were celebrating Miss Moo-res’ 60th birthday, were in their room at midnight, three days into their holiday, when they noticed the fire at the five-star Baia Lara Hotel in Antalya.

Miss Evans, a 41-year-old sales executive from Bredon, near Pershore, and her mother, an Evesham yoga teacher, experienced two power cuts before noticing plumes of smoke billowing out of the hotel.

Fleeing their room using just an iPad to light their way out from the sixth floor, they stopped to help a young family.

“I said to my mum, ‘we’d better get out’,” said Miss Evans. “There were no smoke alarms and as we were leaving a man from the hotel was banging on the doors. As we went downstairs, the smoke got thicker. Mum said afterwards that she was panicking thinking that we were never going to get out.

“There was a young family panicking and I said ‘It’s fine, come down here’.”

The holiday from hell had even started on a bad note when Miss Evans had her purse stolen at Birmingham Airport. Now, safely back in the UK, the duo are determined to get some answers from holiday company Tho-mas Cook who they say did not provide them with enough support.

Following their escape the holidaymakers were packed off to a holding hotel where Miss Evans said they had to force Thomas Cook’s hand before being given an earlier flight home.

“Afterwards it was like the Blitz,” said Miss Evans.

“They offered us another hotel, but we wanted to go home. Eventually, after we found flights, they said we could go. We don’t want compensation, but we want to take our holiday again at a later date.”

A spokesman for Thomas Cook said: “The safety of our holidaymakers is always paramount. We can confirm that all of our guests at the hotel are safe and well and being supported by our experienced resort team.”