A DREAM anniversary cruise turned into a holiday from hell for a Bewdley couple who feared for their lives as their ship was besieged by violent storms.

Celebration turned to terror for Brian and Zelda Little on a trip from Palma in Majorca which saw the Thomson cruise ship Topaz pummelled by huge waves in a seven-day ordeal for the couple, who had never been abroad before.

Groundsman Mr Little, 48, bought the holiday as a surprise for their 23rd wedding anniversary.

Mrs Little, 42, insists the crew were aware of the impending storms and is adamant the ship should never have sailed.

She has been unable to return to work at Wyre Forest District Council, and has suffered nightmares since arriving home in Hilltop Avenue.

"None of us thought we were going to get off the ship alive," Mrs Little said. "I have never experienced anything like it in all my life and I don't want to go through it again."

The cruise itinerary should have seen more than 1,000 holidaymakers take in Rome, Pisa, Florence, Marseilles, Sete and Barcelona.

But the weather soon wrecked the schedule. The Rome stop was a day late and France was bypassed altogether - before outraged passengers were told the ship was not going to stop in Barcelona either.

"We sailed straight into the storm. There were waves coming up onto the top deck. We were told to stay in the middle of the ship as it was too dangerous to go to either end," Mrs Little said.

"We saw deck tables swept overboard by the waves. At one point we were told to stay in our cabins - the only thing to do was try to sleep, to keep away the sickness and the fear.

"The single beds in the cabin were tiny but on the Thursday night we were both petrified. I got in with Brian because I thought if we're going to die we might as well die together."

She says the fear was so widespread crew put up notices reassuring passengers the ship was strong enough to withstand the onslaught.

"I saw elderly people with cuts and bruises - even the waiters were scared. Three or four times we thought the ship was going to go over."

Upon returning to Palma she was told the storms were so bad hotels had been evacuated.

When contacted by the Shuttle/Times and News a spokeswoman for Thomson Holidays would not discuss the cruise and said their customer services department would deal with the Littles' complaints directly.