One British expat claimed a prison was blown open on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, which she managed to escape before Irma unleashed destruction.

She claims her partner carries a knife for safety due to the looting.

Her marine engineer partner Leo Whitting, 38, stayed behind - but after seeing images of the awesome power of the storm Ms Knight said she thought he had died.

She told the Press Association: "I honestly thought he was dead. Before I was making jokes like 'make sure you park my car', it was quite light-hearted because we didn't know the storm was going to be that bad.