EXCLUSIVE

A WILMSLOW dad faces an anxious vigil for his wife and young son who are trapped in Beirut after flying to visit sick relatives last week.

Walid Honeini, 52, saw his wife Nataly and two-year-old son Khaled off as they flew to Beirut last Tuesday, July 11 to visit relatives in the Lebanese capital.

The following day, Israel launched an air offensive on targets in Lebanon after the capture of two of its soldiers by the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Walid, who recently opened The Cedar of Lebanon restaurant on Water Lane, now faces an anxious wait as his wife and son move continually around the city of Beirut trying to avoid Israeli air strikes.

He said: "It is a very sad situation at the moment because my wife is out there for two reasons. My dad is nearly 77 and he has problems with his eyesight.

"Also, my wife's dad has prostate cancer and they cannot operate because they can't find blood for him.

"I am torn between asking her to get the baby out and telling her she should stay with her dad because he is so ill."

Walid, originally from the Lebanon, moved to the UK 30 years ago and says it is his home, but most of his family, including his parents still live there.

A restaurateur, he opened his first Lebanese restaurant in 1983 and recently opened Cedar of Lebanon in the centre of Wilmslow.

He said he has only been able to speak to his wife a couple of times since the violence started as she is constantly on the move to avoid air strikes.

He said: "They are always moving - they took my son to visit my dad for the first time but they only saw them for 15 minutes because there was a rumour that they were going to bomb the area. It is difficult to know where she is going to be."

But he is full of praise for the British officials who are keeping him informed of the situation and says they have been understanding, helpful and supportive at this time.

He added: "I went to my house two days ago and I found a letter from one of our neighbours. She knew my wife was had gone home and I found a note and she expressed how worried she was and I cherished this letter. I didn't and don't expect anything less from the British people."

Meanwhile Maya Kaaki, a mother originally from Wilmslow, was among the first batch of 180 evacuees on board HMS Gloucester, bound for Cyprus.

She told BBC news 24: "It has been hell. I have lived here for four or five years and the last week has been absolutely terrible".

Maya sold her house and moved up to the mountains when things started getting tough.

She said: "Last night I was going a bit hysterical and just wanted to get out of the country because I have a one year old child."

The first Royal Navy ship has docked in Beirut to begin the sea rescue of up to 5,000 Britons expected to be evacuated from Lebanon during the next few days.

So far, around 5,000 of the 10,000 British nationals and 12,000 with dual nationality have requested to leave the country.

Beirut airport is currently closed and there is also a naval blockade of all ports and the main Beirut-Damascus highway is closed.

Other roads out of Lebanon are also closed, or are unsafe for travel.

Foreign Office advice to British nationals in Lebanon is to stay put, exercise caution, keep in touch with the embassy and be ready to move at any time.