A BLACKBURN couple who narrowly avoided being caught up in the Nairobi shopping mall siege, travelled to Vietnam to continue their overseas volunteer work – only to be caught up in Typhoon Nari.

Sadie Newsome and Adam Nickson, both 24, volunteered in a Nairobi orphanage and raised money and supplies before flying to Vietnam.

Only a few hours after arriving in Da Nang, Typhoon Nari hit – a ferocious storm that killed five people and caused widespread damage, leaving residents of the popular tourist city saying their home looked like ‘a battlefield’.

The storm, which claimed 13 lives in the Philippines last week, tore through the centre of Vietnam, hitting the ancient historical city Hue as well as Da Nang, where Sadie and Adam were staying.

Sadie took videos and photographs of the scene from her hotel room, where they were on lock down – unable to leave and left without access to food or water for 24 hours.

Sadie’s photographs show trees, bent and buckling under the pressure of fierce wind and lashes of rain, damage to buildings, and signs and furniture strewn across the streets.

She said: “We arrived and it was raining really heavily.

“When we got to the hotel on the beach front, they told us we had to go out and get supplies as they didn't know how long the typhoon would last.

“We got pizza from next door, but the storm was getting even worse so we ran back. The room was leaking and the wind was so loud it was scary.”

“There was no wifi and I was worried about being able to let my mum know that I was ok.

“We were up all night because the building was shaking and when we looked out of the window we saw rubble flying past.

“The next day there was still no electricity or running water – it was pitch black.

“The staff had moved all the furniture towards the shutters which were chained together.”

The couple have now travelled to Nha Trang and are hoping for a more peaceful stay.

“My mum hates it when we go away because stuff like this always seems to happen – I went to Thailand a few years ago and there were riots,” Sadie said. “We are having too much fun to come home just yet but we are really hoping that this is the last of the drama.”