A WORDSLEY teacher and her new husband thought they were going to die after a massive earthquake struck Indonesia while they were on honeymoon.

Lauren Stokes and husband Adam had been to Bali and Lombok before travelling to paradise island Gili Air to celebrate having tied the knot four months earlier.

They had just been for dinner on the tiny island when the 6.9 quake struck neighbouring Lombok on August 5 and Lauren said: “We were walking along the beach front when the power cut and it was pitch black.

“There was a very strange change in pressure and the ground started to violently shake. I completely froze. My husband Adam went into action mode and noticing an electric line and telegraph waving from side to side he dragged me over to one side clear in case this were to fall. After around 20 seconds the ground stopped shaking and all you could hear were the screams of people running out of buildings - not really knowing what to do.

“We started talking to a couple who had come running out of a field worried about the falling coconuts. Everyone was checking their phones as the next concern was a tsunami warning. It was terrifying and I genuinely thought this would be it and that me and Adam were going to die.”

She said many people started running towards the centre of the island, which is small enough to walk across, but she feared it “would be completely chaotic” so the couple set up camp on the beach, although it was virtually impossible to sleep that night.

Ashwood Park Primary School teacher Lauren said: “There was just aftershock after aftershock and every time these went you just feared that it was the start of another. The island had gone from being quiet and beautiful to us feeling completely isolated and vulnerable. There aren't even police on the island so there were no officials to tell us what to do.”

The following morning they decided against trying to get a boat to Lombok, despite fears another earthquake may strike.

Lauren said: “We just thought if there was another earthquake and it was our time then we would rather have been on a peaceful island rather than amongst the chaos of people getting on boats and going to a camp. We knew they would be overloading the boats anyway which made us feel more uncomfortable.”

Instead they gathered with a group of local hotel owners who united together to gather food and make dinner for those stranded before camping out on the beach again that night.

Lauren said: “The atmosphere was very strange as everyone was upbeat, there was dancing and singing but we all knew in the back of our minds why we were there.”

After another restless night, during which they were rocked by another 5.5 earthquake at 2am, they returned to their villa to collect their things and headed for the harbour after releasing some hungry horses that been trapped in stables without food and water.

It was the first time the couple had seen the damage and Lauren added: “It was horrible to see.”

They managed to get a boat to Lombok without any trouble but the sight of the devastation was literally sickening. Lauren said: “The buildings were flattened, people searching through the rubble - looking for people, and people were just homeless. I had to ask the driver to pull over as I then threw up after seeing the devastation. It was heartbreaking."

The couple from Wall Heath, who tied the knot at Ardencote Manor in Warwick in April, stayed one night in a villa south of Lombok before flying to Singapore the next day. They had been due to stay in Lombok for a further three nights but their hotel had suffered too much damage.

Lauren, however, concedes: “We were so very lucky and can't explain how much we appreciate everyone's help and support.”

She is now hoping, when the school holiday is over, to raise funds to help people affected by the quake which has left more than 400 dead and hundreds of thousands of people displaced.