A FYLDE bride is recovering after Hurricane Ivan put in an unexpected appearance at her £7,000 Jamaican dream wedding.

Karen Collins, 40, of Lytham, was left running for her life after the 160mph storm hit the Sandals Ocho Rios resort just hours before her wedding to then-fiance Tony, 52.

The couple - who currently live in Cambridge - had planned to tie the knot in a tranquil Caribbean ceremony on the fourth anniversary of the day they met.

Instead a frantic Karen faced a race against time to get ready for a last minute ceremony after tour operator, Thomas Cook, announced plans to evacuate them to safety in Orlando, Florida.

The business support manager finally got to wear her ivory designer wedding gown for just 45 minutes in the 90 degree heat of the force five storm.

Karen said: "I look so stressed in the wedding pictures, I was trying to smile through gritted teeth.

"We really wanted to get married on the anniversary of the day we got together, and we'd been planning it in earnest since February.

"We are married - but I don't know how.

"We're thankful that we got off the island safely and our thoughts are with all the Jamaican people after this terrible hurricane.

"I was so sad to hear that people had lost their lives."

The couple were put on a bus to the airport within an hour of saying 'I do' and eventually arrived in Orlando at 2am the next day.

Karen added: "We were so knackered we just went straight to sleep.

"To put it mildly, it wasn't what we planned at all."

Fifteen people have died and thousands have been left seriously injured or homeless after Hurricane Ivan swept through South Eastern Caribbean.

Karen and Tony are currently enjoying a peaceful fortnight honeymoon in Florida before making their way back to the UK to hold a party for family and friends.