A Welshpool couple were caught up in a volcano eruption on the Italian island of Stromboli, which killed one person.

Donovan Suddell, 51, was holidaying with his wife and said it was a “couple of scary days”.

The couple travelled from Calabria to Stromboli and planned to hike up to the top of the volcano on July 3.

“We thought it would be a cool thing to do. We turned up for the excursion and all of a sudden there was a huge bang, like an explosion.

“I looked at my wife and said ‘what was that?’ You could tell from the look on the tour operators’ faces how concerned they were about what had just happened.

“There was smoke pouring into the atmosphere. About 100m up, there were flames on the grassland and smoke billowing. Usually the sea is blue but it was grey, like Barmouth. We then had to be evacuated to a certain part of the island.”

Mr Suddell posted a photo of the eruption on Twitter which caught the attention of international broadcasters CBS and the BBC.

“I was disappointed not to walk to the top, but we can come back to do it again.

“We’re hoping the rest of the holiday is less eventful!”