An Ardrossan family had a lucky escape when they were caught up in wildfires which recently struck southern Portugal.

Suzanne and Kester Fernando and their daughters Jordan, 21, and Aaron, 18, fled in terror as forest fires threatened to engulf their villa in Silves.

Suzanne told the Herald: “Our outdoor area started to fill up quickly with ash and smoke, the sky was thick and bright orange from the flames, and as we looked all around our house we felt trapped. Luckily, a fire volunteer came to the house and told us we all had to evacuate immediately as the fire was about to hit us.

“It was very traumatic for us all. As we got in the car the forest fires appeared over our balcony. Everyone was in a panic on the streets trying to get to safety, you could hear emergency sirens, people were covering their noses and mouths with masks and visibility was awful. There were fire trucks and police everywhere trying to evacuate everyone. It was like something out of a movie.”

The Fernandos grabbed what they could and fled to a hotel further south. The family was briefly allowed back to the villa a few days later to see if they could salvage anything. Miraculously, the house was still standing, and they were able to retrieve all of their belongings.

Suzanne said: “We were not ready for the devastation we encountered. My heart breaks for the wildlife, those who lost their livelihood and the 50,000 plus acres of land completely destroyed.

“There were still fires burning over our wall so we worked desperately to try and put the fires out by refilling bottles of water. We did what we could but the smoke inhalation on top of our asthma did not bode well at all and we were forced to stop.

“We were the lucky ones, we came home, but my heart breaks for those left behind to cope with the aftermath of this tragedy. We’d like to thank everyone who showed concern for us during the fires, we’ve had so many of our friends and family sending lovely messages and they all really helped get us through it.”

The Monchique wildfires broke out amidst a heatwave and raged for a week. More than 40 people are thought to have been injured. The UK Foreign Office’s latest update confirmed that the fires had now been extinguished.