Stuck in a rat-infested bathroom on St Maarten, Jos Smart, 26, and his girlfriend Julia Taylor, 30, say they have been abandoned by the British government.

After Hurricane Irma hit the Caribbean last Wednesday, the 24-metre boat they had been living on was destroyed.

They were then forced to find refuge in a half-destroyed hotel, and now, after five days, are too afraid to leave “amid reports of looting and violence,” reports The Daily Mail.

St Maarten has since been placed under curfew to try and restore order.

While British troops and police officers were sent to help those on the British Virgin Islands, here’s the thing with St Maarten: it’s Dutch.

Families on St Maarten, which is Dutch and shares the island with the French St Martin to the north, say that because it is not a British territory their loved ones have been abandoned.

Jos and Julia have not received any support from the Foreign Office, their family say, and officials could not even tell Julia where to go for help when she contacted them on Saturday.

They have no water and only a little bit of juice.

The Daily Mail spoke to Smart’s dad who has been in contact with the couple:

“During Irma they said that the sounds were apocalyptic and they have likened it to a war zone.

“They are holed up in a half demolished bathroom and their phone is running out of battery.

“They are in a bit of a state. There have been rats in their room looking for food. At night time there were people knocking on their door, and so there are 12 hours of sheer blackness to get through with the terror of who is going to knock down the door. “

I wonder how many other yachties are in the same position. Harrowing indeed.

[source:telegraph]