Couples flee jungle gun gang

Two holidaying British couples have told how they scrambled through the African jungle to escape armed bandits who had kidnapped and robbed them of thousands of pounds.

Liz Webster, 60, mayor of Waltham Abbey, Essex, and her sister Maria Zabell, 57, said the nightmare began nine days into a two-week holiday with their husbands at an isolated hotel at Abene, Senegal.

Gunmen dressed in battle fatigues burst in as the four were relaxing in the hotel bar after dinner.

Mrs Webster said: "I can honestly say it was the most frightening thing that has ever happened to me. The whole situation was unreal - like a film. They were shouting in French. The only English words they spoke were 'Give us your money or we will kill you.'

"My sister and I had our wedding rings ripped off our fingers along with our necklaces, and they emptied our pockets. Then our husbands were marched at gunpoint back to our bungalow rooms. They took £2,000 cash from each room, as well as our other jewellery, cameras, passports, flight tickets, and even a can of sweets.

"They made the hotel owners open the safe, where they took another £7,000. Then they made everyone lie on the floor as they smashed up things on the bar."

The Britons were marched into the jungle at gunpoint, said Mrs Webster. "It was bad enough being robbed but, as we were being marched through the bush, all four of us were convinced we were going to be shot. There could be no other motive for them taking us away.

"Some of the robbers were clearly on drugs from the way they were acting, and all of them were armed with these fearsome AK47 rifles. My sister and I had no doubt that we were going to be raped as well."

They escaped only after convincing the 11 bandits that Mrs Webster's husband, Don Spinks, was suffering a heart attack. As they walked, Mr Spinks, 57, a retired sugar factory owner, started to gasp for breath and had to stop.

His wife went on: "I was making gestures to give the impression that he had suffered a heart attack. The two guards with us told us they were leaving. They spoke only French but we realised they were saying, 'Wait here for us to return. We will shoot you if you move.'"

When the gang had left, the four trekked by night through eight miles of bush and swamp near Senegal's border with the Gambia in West Africa. "We decided we had to try to get away because we feared they were going to kill us anyway," said Mrs Webster. "We crossed through swamp areas and got on to the beach in an attempt to get as far away as possible from the robbers.

"We kept having to dive into the trees when we saw these powerful flashlights because we thought they were coming after us. We found a lean-to shelter on the beach where we huddled together until 6am. Then my brother-in-law went into the village and found some help."

Mr Spinks said: "My wife and I love adventurous holidays, but maybe not as adventurous as this."

Mrs Zabell and her husband Keith, 62, of Sewardstonebury, near Waltham Abbey, had stayed at the resort four times before without incident, she added.