TWO terrified Kidderminster teenagers hid in the downstairs bathroom of their villa as Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc in Orlando, Florida.

Emily Pitt, 16, was caught up in the storm during a holiday to Orlando with her friend, Chloe Holloway, 17, and her parents, Sarah and Craig, all from Kidderminster.

They had arrived last Wednesday (September 6) for a four-week break and were unaware that Hurricane Irma was due to hit the city until they arrived at Orlando Airport.

Holidaymakers were warned to stay indoors as the hurricane closed in on the southern state.

Emily and the Holloway family barricaded themselves in the downstairs toilet of their villa in Kissimmee on Sunday (September 10) as they waited out the storm. The entire city of Orlando was put on curfew as Irma hit, battering the coast with winds of up to 130mph during the day.

Emily’s mother, Becky Reading, was stuck at home in Kidderminster with no contact with her daughter – who was on her first holiday abroad - as she watched news channels and desperately awaited news from thousands of miles away.

Becky finally spoke to her daughter on Monday afternoon UK time, to say they were safe, but shaken by the incident – and left with no electricity and limited resources to contact her.

She said: “The first they heard about the hurricane heading for Florida was when they landed at the airport on Wednesday.

“When it hit Orlando, it had been downgraded to a category two hurricane – if it had been a higher one they could have been killed.

“I was awake all night watching the news channels in America, desperate to hear from them.

“It was just a case of waiting, waiting and waiting. I didn’t hear anything until Monday because they had no power and they had been up until the early hours. They had been staying in the downstairs bathroom of their villa.

“It was Emily’s first holiday abroad and her first without her mum. She said she was shaken up by it all – she sounded quite scared. They had been up all night.”

She added: “I was absolutely terrified.

“I felt terrible because I was thousands of miles away watching it all unfold in front of me on the television. There was so much devastation. There was no way I could do anything because I couldn’t get in contact with them.

“It is a big thing sending your daughter on holiday with another family and then this happens.

“I am just hoping they can enjoy the rest of their holiday now.”