There was relief this week for friends and family of Hampshire residents, believed to have been caught up in the Asian tsunami tragedy, as they returned safely to the UK.

In Hamble, regulars of The Victory pub toasted the return of barman, Bill Fleming, from Thailand. As reported last week, Bill flew to SE Asia the day before the disaster. But he walked back into the popular watering-hole at noon last Friday. No-one had heard from him for two weeks and feared that he was among the 150,000 killed by the giant wave.

"He'd told us the first thing he was going to do when he got there was have a beer on the beach," said landlady, Vivien Stratton.

But it turned out he had been staying hundreds of miles away on Thailand's east coast, which connects with the South China Sea. "We were all worrying unnecessarily," Mrs Stratton said. "We thought he was in Phuket, but it was Pattaya."

Meanwhile, it was good news for friends and customers of the Lucas family, of Western Road, Fulflood.

Paul Lucas (48), who runs a Winchester T-shirt company, left in mid-December with wife, Miaw (42) and 10-year-old stepson, Bang, to visit family in Thailand over Christmas.

When the disaster struck on Boxing Day, many of Paul's friends and customers wondered what had happened to the family.

Paul, who arrived back on Saturday with Miaw and Bang, said: "Everyone was very relieved to see us and there were loads of answerphone messages."

He explained that the story could have been very different. Originally, the family had planned to take Bang and his cousin to Phuket for Christmas after visiting family in Chang Mai. "He wanted a beach holiday, but we never made it, thank goodness."

They decided not to go after his wife, a Buddhist, said she had a bad feeling because of the problems with the Muslim population. Instead, they stayed in their hotel over 300 miles away, but Paul said that didn't stop them feeling the earthquake.

Before leaving the country, they realised the extent of the disaster. "Thai TV pulled no punches. It was horrific," said Paul.

But for others, there's only sadness. Malcolm Pyke, of West End, has asked the media to leave him alone after it was confirmed that his wife, Pauline, was killed in the disaster. They were on holiday in the Maldives when the tsunami swept ashore.

At least 82 people died in the Maldives, according to the BBC. The corporation's website said 20 of the 199 inhabited islands had been "totally destroyed" by the giant wave, even though the low-lying archipelago was over 1,000 miles from the epicentre and partly protected by the landmass of Sri Lanka.

* Winchester MP, Mark Oaten, was celebrating last night after forcing the Home Office into a dramatic U-turn over their plans to charge Britons who lost their passports in the tsunami disaster.

Victims were told they would have to pay £70 for a replacement. When the MP challenged the Home Office, it first only offered to waive the £28 "fast-track" charge, but eventually bowed to pressure and agreed to replace all passports free of charge.

Said Mr Oaten: "I'm glad the Home Office has put this injustice right. This is another example of the Government failing to match the expectations of the British people in their response to this disaster."