A BARNOLDSWICK man suffered an anxious five day wait for news of his family in the aftermath of the devastating hurricane which tore through the Cayman Islands earlier this week.

Harold Green, 84, of Dam Head Road, was praying for the safety of his son, daughter-in-law and seven-year-old grandson after Hurricane Ivan raged through the British Island.

There were several deaths and with communication lines down, it was impossible to get a message through.

Mr Green's son Gary, 44, a former pupil of West Craven High Technology College, has lived on the island for six years with his wife Dinah and son Keelan.

It wasn't until Wednesday that Mr Green heard from his son.

Mr Green said: "All he could say was that they were alright. Their house will have to be demolished when things get better because the underneath is completely destroyed."

Mr Green added: "It is the best telephone call I have ever had in my life. I feel really relieved. You can mend a broken house but you can't mend a broken body."