'I thought the windows were going to come in:" Head of Burnley charity BK's Heroes who was stranded in Hilton Hotel in Orlando as Hurricane Milton hit Florida

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‘We are all safe.’

That was the message today from Dave King and his wife Fiona, the driving forces behind a well known Burnley and Pendle charity, who have been stranded in Florida as the state was hit by Hurricane Milton last night.

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Four people died and three million homes and businesses were left without power as the hurricane brought tornadoes, floods and storm surges.

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(From left to right ) Dave King with his wife Fiona and their son Dan and his partner Mel pictured in Sarasota, Florida, before disaster struck with the arrival of Hurricane Milton. They are hoping to fly home tomorrow (Friday)(From left to right ) Dave King with his wife Fiona and their son Dan and his partner Mel pictured in Sarasota, Florida, before disaster struck with the arrival of Hurricane Milton. They are hoping to fly home tomorrow (Friday)
(From left to right ) Dave King with his wife Fiona and their son Dan and his partner Mel pictured in Sarasota, Florida, before disaster struck with the arrival of Hurricane Milton. They are hoping to fly home tomorrow (Friday)

Dave and Fiona, of the charity BK’s Heroes, were holidaying in the States with their son Dan and his partner Mel when disaster struck. The family have spent four days holed up in the Hilton Hotel in Orlando which was in the path of the hurricane.

Fiona said: “We didnt think it was too bad but then at 4am the wind really picked up and I thought the windows were going to come through.

“We finally got some sleep around 6am and we are all safe.”

The family were due to fly home last night but their flight was cancelled after all airports were closed down. They are now hoping to get a flight back to the UK tomorrow (Friday). Fiona has thanked their travel agent, Maureen Evans of Freedom Travel Longton, who they contacted for help when the Hilton Hotel said they would have to leave just hours before the hurricane was due to hit.

Fiona added: “Thanks to Maureen’s persistence and support we had a safe place to stay, we can’t thank her enough.”

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Dave and Fiona are well known in Burnley and Pendle for the charity they run, BK’s Heroes, that was set up by their other son Ben, who died aged just 27 in 2016 after courageously battling inoperable brain tumours. A true inspiration, when Ben was first diagnosed in September, 2014, he immediately set up BK’s Heroes. It has become his lasting legacy, honoured by his parents, and all the money raised, totalling more than £150,000, is used to fund research programmes into brain tumours at UCLAN Preston and Preston Royal Hospital as well as a Renal Research Nurse at Preston Royal Hospital.

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