'We didn't know what to expect': Brits in Florida hunker down as Hurricane Milton hits

Video report by ITV Granada's Lucille Brobbey

British tourists and ex-pats stuck in Florida were "boarding up the windows" of their hotels and "making what could be our final calls" as Hurricane Milton tore through the state.

Emergency services in a number of areas were forced to stand down after Milton made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 120mph.

Andrew Knight travelled from Sefton to Kissimmee in Florida for a family holiday a week before the hurricane hit, but soon found himself buying emergency supplies and boarding up the windows of the villa they were staying in.

He said: "We were obviously tracking everything on the news and we went to the supermarket two days before for supplies.

"We made sure all the windows were secure in case they were smashed or blown in.

"Beyond that we just made our phones and battery packs were charged up. We filled all the bathtubs so we had drinking water if we needed it."

When the hurricane arrived, Andrew and his family hunkered down as it ripped through their area.

He said: "You couldn't really sleep because the wind was rattling. The trees were swirling around, so it was quite intense, quite scary.

"When you stepped outside you could really feel it all around you.

"The pool was overflowing, a couple of branches were blown down."

Just a few miles north, Sharon Ward was sheltering with her family. Originally from Manchester, Sharon raised her two daughters in Orlando.

Her family was told to evacuate but with no way to take their horse and dogs they made the difficult decision to hunker down as the storm begins to hit.

Speaking just before the storm hit, Sharon said: "I'm so afraid of what will happen to us - we're on our own.

"Lots of people have been getting in touch and it feels like the last time I'm going to be speaking to them.

"I know that sounds dramatic but that's how it feels. We're almost saying our goodbyes."

As the storm began to make landfall, Sharon spoke to her mother and brother over the phone.

She said: "We did have a conversation just in case something happens to us. I told her how much I love her, and that hopefully it's all going to be okay.

"Having to think like that - that you might not see your mum again or your brother or your best friend... It's really hard."

Sharon has experienced Florida hurricanes before, but Milton is expected to be the worst to hit the state in a century. It will also be the first major storm since her husband died.

She said: "This is our first hurricane without him. So I think that's really added to the whole thing. We're on our own. We have great friends who have helped us get ready, but we are on our own."

"If anything happens here, I don't know what we're going to do honestly. We had to stay for the dogs, we're not leaving our dogs.

"A very good friend offered to put us up in Virginia, and take the horse and the dogs, but everywhere is gridlocked so we can't do that. So this is where we are."

Hurricane Milton has now made its way back out to sea and the mandatory curfew has been lifted across most of Florida.

Andrew hopes he'll now be able to enjoy the last nine days of his holiday.

He said: "we'll go out today and have a little drive around. We'll be staying on in Orlando for another nine days, so hopefully things can reopen and we can continue having fun."

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