Publicans Keith and Tanya Dunne were glad to be back home today after surviving a terrifying 14-hour ordeal on a cross-Channel ferry during a Force 11 storm, writes Phil Clee.

The couple, who have run the Six Bells pub in Kidlington for four years, were returning on a P&O crossing from Calais after a trip to EuroDisney on Sunday.

Keith, 28, said: "We'd been warned it was going to be a choppy ride, but we never imagined how bad it would really be. We were just 20 minutes from Dover when they announced the harbour was closed.

"We spent four hours with other boats going round in circles in horrendous seas, before taking refuge in calmer waters off the coast near Deal. But even there the winds were gusting at between 60 and 70mph.

"A lot of people were screaming and crying adults as well as children and there were people lying down everywhere being sick. It was terrifying."

He added: "On one occasion, the ferry must have come off a huge wave and suddenly wacked down. I actually left the floor. "One man was on crutches and he was trying to find somewhere to lie down. His crutches just went from under him and he crashed into a wall."

Keith said that even inside Dover harbour, the drama continued.

"The boat was swaying so heavily they had to time it carefully to get the buses and coaches off because the ramp was lifting so much.

"As coaches finally got on to the ramp you could see people waving their arms, and everyone on ours cheered, too, when we got off."