A TSUNAMI disaster survivor recovering in a Munich hospital slammed the treatment she received from British officials.

The seriously-injured Leigh-born marketing executive, who was air-lifted from Thailand by the German Luftwaffe, has spoken about how she was rescued by the German Air Force after being left in despair.

Paula Bateman, 26, whose boyfriend Benjamin Watts, is missing, claimed her pleas for help to the Foreign Office were met with dither and delay.

Paula had been holidaying in Khao Lak with a group of friends when the death wave struck on Boxing Day. After surviving the torrents she was taken to hospital in Phang Nga where she drifted in and out of consciousness for three days suffering from fever and infections to leg and back wounds.

Though she remembers medical staff cutting away infected flesh she says she was not seen by British officials until December 29.

She told a Sunday newspaper: "When I first got to hospital I was in a terrible state. I was deeply traumatised as I have lost my partner. I was dehydrated, in severe pain and suffering from a fever and I had to fight for water and painkillers.

"The hospital and the treatment I received were diabolical. At this point there had not been one visit from the British Embassy or anyone connected with the British Government."

Paula was tracked down to the hospital by a friend, Ric Parker, who informed her family she was alive and alerted the Embassy of her whereabouts and her condition.

Her hopes were lifted when she was visited on the 29th by British Ambassador David Fall and questioned by a British doctor on the same day.

She said she was told they would transfer her to a better hospital in Bangkok, but when Mr Parker phoned the Embassy the same evening he was informed no attempts would be made to arrange the transfer until a meeting the following morning.

Later that evening her condition worsened, but luckily German teams arrived and decided in minutes she needed intensive care. They went through the wards and picked out those Europeans with the worst injuries, and she was one of them flown out by the Luftwaffe, which said it had taken five Britons to Germany for treatment.

Although Paula would have preferred to be brought home for treatment, faced with the indecision of the British officials, she accepted the offer. She said later: "I was in a serious condition and didn't have a choice. The Germans on board did their best and I thank God for them."

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London this week said that if Miss Bateman or her family had any complaints they would take them on board and try to give answers to the family if they are able to do so.

A spokesman said: "We have an agreement in place with our EEC neighbours that they wil bring out any survivors needing treatment. The plane that we chartered on New Year's Day brought back victims from other European countries to Britain."