SCHOOLGIRL Beth Hynan has been telling her classmates about her remarkable escape from the tsunami during her Christmas holiday in Thailand.

The Hynan family, from Oakridge, Basingstoke, were in Phuket when the horrifying tsunami struck on Boxing Day.

Ten-year-old Beth and her parents, Linda and Laurence, escaped unscathed. '

But the family, of Stratfield Road, cannot believe their luck as they were originally meant to be in Khao Lak on Boxing Day - and the hotel they would have been staying in was destroyed by the force of the huge tidal waves.

Mrs Hynan, 41, said: "We had travelled to Bangkok, Phuket, Phi Phi island and Khao Lak.

"We were extremely lucky as we were due to be in Khao Lak for nine days over Christmas."

But the family moved from their hotel in Khao Lak back to Phuket because they did not like the hotel - and Beth had an ear infection so they wanted to be near a hospital.

"When I heard what happened to Khao Lak it made me go cold," said Mrs Hynan.

"It was definitely fate or a huge stroke of luck that we weren't there."

The Hynans were staying in a hotel on high ground. When the tsunami struck, Mrs Hynan was by the pool and Beth and Mr Hynan were still in bed.

Mrs Hynan, a business measurements and controls analyst for IBM in Basingstoke, said: "That day was really scary because nobody really knew what was happening.

"When I was at the pool there was lots of commotion and noise - people were saying all sorts of things about what had happened."

The family were told to run up the hill by their hotel and they spent the day on the balcony of a Thai family's home with about 20 other tourists before returning in the evening.

Beth, who goes to Oakridge Junior School, has recorded her experiences in a story she has read to her classmates.

An extract reads: "We went down to the beach and saw the damage. It was unbelievable. I have never seen anything like it in my life."

The family arrived back in England on December 29.

Mrs Hynan has been helping to organise fundraising events with her colleagues at IBM, at Normandy House. So far, they have raised £1,400.