A DISABLED Darwen man and his wife who fled a Thai beach resort just as the Indian Ocean tsunami struck have returned home.

Edward and Margaret White, of Holden Fold, Darwen, returned after they managed to get out of the devastated region of Phuket to the Thai capital Bangkok.

Mr White, 56, who uses a wheelchair, and Margaret, 67, told relatives he and his wife had just got off the sands in time when the tidal wave hit Patong Beach in Phuket.

Mr and Mrs White had been on a five-week holiday to the resort and were staying at the Smile Inn, on the beach.

His sister, Diane Lambert, and mother Agnes, 79, told of their fears that the couple may not have survived the disaster.

They had tried frantically to reach Mr White on his mobile phone on Boxing Day but it was turned off.

They had also made call after call to the Smile Inn Hotel to no avail.

Agnes and Diane also left Edward and Margaret's descriptions and details with the Foreign Office in the hope they would be spotted.

After three days of hell, waiting anxiously for news in front of the television, they finally received a call from the couple to say they had managed to escape the tsunami and get to Bangkok.

Massive waves hit the beach following a magnitude 9.0 earthquake under the sea off the coast of Indonesia.

Over 150,000 people have been confirmed dead across coastlines in the Indian Ocean. Over 400 Britons have been confirmed dead and several thousand more are still missing.