A POOLE man has described being stranded in the Philippines with his wife and four-year-old son as an “emotional rollercoaster”.

Chris Parkin, 41, travelled to the Philippines with his wife, Joyca Napa, 38, and son, Sebastian Parking in January to visit family.

However, after flights got cancelled and being stuck on an island, the family, from Poole, found themselves with no way home.

Mr Parkin said: “We were a little bit isolated with no Wi-Fi or internet, we were in a bubble.

“We were with friends and suddenly things got a lot more restrictive.”

Mr Parkin compared the place they were in to Lyme Regis and was about four hours from any domestic airport.

“We got an email saying our flight was cancelled. The country was put in community quarantine,” he continued.

Mr Parkin’s family were eventually put on a domestic evacuation flight and their closest airport was one of the first to benefit from the flight.

“We were lucky. We went to the airport, it was put on for free. It took us to an international airport.

“We did have to sleep in the airport. That was alright compared to other people stuck out there.

“I have spoken to our MP to put pressure on the foreign office to help people still stuck there.

“There are lots of people stuck on different islands.”

Mr Parkin spent over £1000 on flights to get he and his family home and hoped to get a refund and said it was stressful as flights kept getting cancelled.

“Flights would pop up and we had hope and then that flight would be cancelled and your emotions dropped down the other side of the rollercoaster.

“It just has been an emotional rollercoaster. You get hope and then it disappears and we have to be normal around our son.

“It is now a great feeling of relief. We were quite lucky not to be stuck there longer. People could be stuck there for a month or two months.”

A spokesperson for the foreign and commonwealth office said: “We recognise British tourists abroad are finding it difficult to return to the UK because of the unprecedented international travel and domestic restrictions that are being introduced around the world, often with very little or no notice.

“The FCO is working around the clock to support British travellers in this situation to allow them to come back to the UK. The Government is seeking to keep key transit routes open as long as possible and is in touch with international partners and the airline industry to make this happen.

“Consular staff are supporting those with urgent need while providing travel advice and support to those still abroad.”