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British Virgin Islanders "Terrified" Of Escaped Prisoners

Residents of the British Virgin Islands say they are "terrified" of the prisoners who escaped as a result of damage caused by Hurricane Irma.

Foreign minister Sir Alan Duncan told the Commons on Tuesday that around 100 "very serious" prisoners have now fled the Tortola prison.

He said the convicts pose a "serious threat of the complete breakdown of law and order".

Those living on the islands have said that looting has been "terrible" and that a rape has been committed whilst the prisoners have been on the loose.

Shanelle Williams, an island resident who has taken 15 people into her home following the devastating hurricane, said:

"You go into the town, they crash and they open up and [are] stealing everything.

"But since the military came it has calmed down. But the only issue right now is these prisoners are out.

"They have already raped someone and they have already tried to steal from people, it is terrifying."

Meanwhile Bibi Alli, 37, said that she hid in the bathroom with her daughter Nerrize, 14, during the hurricane:

"It sounded like a tornado, when the windows went everything was gone. I will never forget that in my life."

She has been taken in by Ms Williams, who said of her decision to open her home to those in need:

"You can't just sit down and watch persons out there suffering, it was so crazy there were people running on the road.

"I have lived through one hurricane in the 90s and it was never like this... this is the worst."

One woman who did not want to be named described the scenes following the storm, saying there was galvanised steel "all over the place", but that "people came together, cleared the roads and made them passable". She added:

"(Later) looters were on the streets and no government officials... there were people breaking into jewellery stores and supermarkets.

"Then a couple of nights ago one family had a generator and five men with guns stick them up and took the generator away.

"You do not feel safe.

"The prisoners came and they were walking around, people were raped, I've heard there was rape and now they're trying to round them up."

She said there should have been an emergency plan ready, but she appreciated the help from British troops in the hurricane's aftermath.

A Red Cross appeal has so far raised £650,000, and the UK government is doubling any public donations made; for every £1 given, another £1 will be matched, up to £3 million.

International Development Secretary Priti Patel said:

"In times of crises, at home or abroad, the overwhelming generosity of the British people provides hope where there is despair… the government will double the difference Britons can make to the lives of those affected by Hurricane Irma."