A DISTRAUGHT pub licensee fears his parents could be dead after the massive Turkish earthquake tore through their home town, killing more than 100 people.

Muzaffer Ozcelik, 34, joint licensee at the Whitaker's Arms in Burnley Road, Accrington, is anxiously waiting for news of his mother and father.

His mother, Ismet, 61, and his father, Mehmet, 67, live in Adapazari, just 26 miles from Izmit, the town at the centre of the earthquake which is believed to have claimed more than 3,500 lives and injured at least 13,000.

Today, East Lancashire people due to go to Turkey were warned that further earth tremors could occur over the next few days and damaged buildings in the worst-hit areas would remain dangerous. The Foreign Office is advising against travel to the worst-affected areas of Yalova, Izmit and Adapazari, although all the main costal resorts are thought to be safe, even though there is a risk of power cuts.

Lancashire firefighters were put on standby to help with the rescue mission after the earthquake but have not been called out to the disaster area. There have been problems with the telephone system in western Turkey, and many callers have not been able to get through.

Muzaffer's youngest brother, Engin, has set off on a desperate 400-mile drive across the ravaged country in the hope of finding his parents.

The drive from Engin's home in Izmir near the mid-west coast usually takes seven hours, but could take much longer because of the destruction caused by the earthquake, which struck early yesterday while people were asleep. Muzaffer said: "I am worried to death. I don't know the situation and I can't contact them. I have tried to telephone but the lines must be down because I cannot get through.

"I have spoken to my brother and he is okay. He lives far enough away that the earthquake did not affect him. He has told me what is happening on Turkish TV and they said that 100 people have been killed in my parents' town. He is going to drive there and see what has happened.

"I hope my brother will take a mobile phone with him so he can get in touch. It usually takes seven hours to get from Izmir to Adapazari but the Turkish TV said the roads are blocked so I don't know how long it will take my brother to get there."

"Their town is right on the line of the earthquake and there was an earthquake there 30 years ago that killed thousands of people."

Muzaffer moved to Britain six years ago and ran a pub in Manchester before he and friend Adnan Kocedemir took over the Whitakers Arms six months ago.

The Association of British Tour Agents today said tourists planning to go to the Istanbul area should check with their tour operators, but this was not necessary for people going to the main coastal resorts. The Foreign Office has set up a telephone advice line for people worried about friends or relatives caught up in the quake. The number is 0171 839 1010.

Deborah Gorton, manager of Althams Travel Services in Ainsworth Street, Blackburn, said she had had several inquiries from people travelling to Turkey on holiday.

"There has been a lot off concern from anxious people who are going there shortly but the information we have from the tour operators is that the coastal resorts are unaffected. The tourist area is a long way away from the quake," she said.

Christine Parkington, manageress of Accrington Travel Worldchoice in Peel Street, Accrington, said they have had several customers in the Istanbul area on city breaks and cruises over the Accrington and Blackburn holidays but no-one there at the moment.

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