by Hayley Harp

A MOTHER today described how she and her family fled to safety after a blaze broke out at their Turkish holiday resort.

Maxine Reeves, 35-year-old partner Mark Preston and their two children were part way through a two-week break in Marmaris when a fire started at the Anastacia Club resort on Monday night.

Maxine, aged 34, and 11-year-old son Christian were two of the seven Britons who received hospital treatment as a result of the blaze. They were treated for glass in their feet but have since been discharged.

The family, from Tunstall, have told how they were getting ready for bed when they heard the sound of smashing glass as staff began evacuating the hotel.

Maxine, aged 34, said: "When we heard the glass we opened the bedroom door and someone was saying 'Fire, fire, get out now'."

"The corridors were full of smoke. It was so bad you couldn't see your hand in front of your face."

She added: "People had to smash their way through the fire doors to get out, walking through all the glass."

Last night the family was waiting to be transferred to another hotel until they fly home on Sunday.

Maxine, whose nine-year-old daughter Emily is also on the trip, added: "It still doesn't seem real.

"The fire alarms didn't seem to be going off. If it had been any later we would have been asleep and probably dead now."

Maxine rang her family in Stone to let them know about the incident yesterday morning.

Her mum, Pamela Reeves, aged 58, of The Fillybrooks, said: "I got a phone call around 6.30am and I was so shocked.

"I feel really sorry for them, they had been looking forward to this holiday and then this had to happen."

Maxine's sister, 29-year-old cafe worker Nicola Reeves, of Princes Street, added: "When mum rang I was really worried but I know Maxine is strong-minded and will cope."

The fire is reported to have started when a boiler in the hotel's sauna exploded.

A spokesman for First Choice, the firm the family booked the holiday with, said: "The cause of the fire is still being determined and all guests affected have been moved to alternative accommodation."

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