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Metro
3 days ago
- Metro
'I survived the Tunisia terror attack by swimming out to sea'
Colin Bidwell was never a religious man, but he prayed three times on June 26, 2015. It had taken him a few days to settle into his sunshine break in Sousse, Tunisia, with his wife Chris, but as he sprawled on a sun lounger in front of the ocean on his penultimate day, he finally felt thoroughly relaxed. Then, at around noon, terrorist Seifeddine Rezgui stormed the beach armed with an automatic rifle that he'd hidden in a beach umbrella and opened fire. 'I remember vividly an hour before it happened, I looked out directly at the ocean and thought to myself: 'This is the life. This is wonderful.' I'm a bit of a fidgety person; I'm not the best at lying down and relaxing, but I was trying hard that holiday to zone out,' the painter and decorator from Windlesham, Surrey, tells Metro. 'You'd never think it was going to happen.' At first, Colin thought the 'pops' he heard were fireworks, until he saw his terrified wife heading towards the hotel, urging him to run. He felt the bullets ricochet off the sand as he sprinted to hide behind an upturned boat. 'It was pure shock, right to the core. I wouldn't wish it on anybody. There was the gunfire going on, and I thought that was it. That he was coming down, finishing everybody off. I prayed for my life, and then I looked up and saw the sea in front of me. 'I thought: 'I could die here, or I could die running'. So I ran down the beach and swam out as far as I could,' Colin, 60, recalls. When he thought it was safe, he stopped and started to tread water. 'Then I got tired, and the panic set in. That's when I prayed again. I don't know how I did it, but I pointed my toe and found a rock sticking up. I managed to get my breath. And then luckily, [local man] Mohammed saw me and picked me up in the boat. He told me I'd been bitten by a fish.' The bleeding was in fact where Colin had been grazed twice by Rezgui's bullets, but the adrenaline had blanked out the pain. Mohammed dropped him off at a nearby hotel where he thought he'd be safe. 'I knew the area. So I thought I'd go from the hotel to a mobile police station at the end of the road. But I jumped over a wall and there he was.' Rezgui had left the beach and was inland, having entered the nearby five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel and shooting at anyone who crossed his path. Colin lowered himself behind the wall so he wouldn't be seen, and then he heard a commotion as another local came to his rescue. Moncef Mayel, who lived nearby, was watching everything from a nearby balcony and started throwing ceramic tiles down to distract Rezgui. Moments later, it would all be over. Police opened fire, and the 23-year-old attacker was shot dead. Rezgui had killed 38 tourists, 30 of them from the UK. It was the greatest British loss of life in a terror attack since the London bombings in 2005. ISIS later claimed responsibility. As soon as he could, Colin headed down to the beach to see if any of the bodies, now covered with beach towels, belonged to Chris – making his final prayer that he would find her alive. 'Then I saw her in the hotel, in her yellow bikini. We ran to each other and held each other. It was an amazing thing because we'd survived. 'I'm not a deeply religious guy, but I'm now a great believer in the power of prayer. I prayed that day three times, and I survived,' he explains. Colin doesn't like to talk about the attack, partly because it is traumatic but mainly because he is acutely aware that while the pair of them made it out alive, many others didn't. The couple returned to the UK, where they suffered from the aftereffects. Chris would repeatedly check that the doors were closed and locked. Sometimes she struggled to leave the house, panicking in the car, and to this day, she has to know where the exits are when they go to a restaurant. Meanwhile, Colin would unexpectedly taste salt in his mouth – perhaps as a result of the panic while treading water – and they were both jumpy around Fireworks Night. 'Your awareness is dialled up to 11. You think everybody around you could be a threat. You don't feel safe. You never think something like this is going to happen to you, and when it does, you can't help but think it's going to happen again,'he says. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video As the impact of the trauma started to subside, Colin was eager to make sense of what he'd been through, so he decided to go to the local mosque. 'I was a stereotypical guy who worked on construction sites. I was very ignorant when it came to other religions. When I went to the mosque, I was watching people with backpacks and thinking: 'Is he going in there with that?' I didn't cope well with it.' But after meeting the Imam and his wife, Colin learned that the attack wasn't religious, but political. 'I came to understand that you can take things literally in the Quran that can be completely misinterpreted. And I learned that understanding more about people's faiths might help to stop something like this happening again.' A year after the attack, Colin made the difficult decision to return to Sousse to thank Mohammed, Moncef and the hotel staff who had helped, and to find peace. 'Both my grandfathers, who were in World War II, played a huge part in my life. One was in Dunkirk, and the other was behind the lines in Burma. I remember both of them saying that they wished they had gone back sooner – that they could cope better afterwards. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but one of the best things I've ever done, because it was healing,' he explains. Following the attack, Colin found a deep appreciation of life and became more in touch with himself. He had what he described as a 'spiritual awakening' and decided that, as he had been spared, he wanted to be the best person he could be. When he was approached by the Institute of Strategic Dialogue, a think tank that aims to conquer extremism, and was asked to talk to people who were being radicalised, he jumped at the chance. 'We're all here for a purpose, and I think mine was just to become a better person. If we all have a bit of that, there'd be a lot more peace in the world,' he adds. 'It was around the time when there were a lot of beheadings being put out on social media, and the Institute found that if you reached out early to some of these people that were either posting this or were the contributors to the original filming, they would think more carefully about what they would do next. 'I would try to talk to these people over Facebook, and over time, I started making headway. There were a couple that I spoke to over quite a long period of time, and I think I made a difference. I was doing a couple of hours every night, telling people that I was a survivor and challenging their beliefs.' More Trending Ten years since the attack, Colin has made his peace with the human world, but has a way to go with the natural world. He used to love the ocean, but after fearing he might drown at sea during the attack, he has yet to return to the waves. He holidays on the Isle of Wight, or if he goes abroad, the couple stay in villas inland. 'Recovering from the trauma is an ongoing process,' he explains. 'You learn to live with it. You can't let it bring you down or live your life in fear. I will go out and swim like I used to. I know I'm going to make my peace with it, sooner or later.' Surviving the Tunisia Beach Attack is out now on Prime Video, produced by Yeti Television. 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Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
I'm still friends with the woman I saved in the Tunisian beach attacks
When crazed gunman Seifeddine Rezgui opened fire on unsuspecting tourists enjoying the sun in a luxury Tunisian beach resort, those who weren't shot before they could escape, ran for their lives. Yet for holidaymaker Allen Pembroke, the thought of leaving injured people on the beach wasn't an option. After ensuring the safety of his wife, he returned, running towards the horror, not away from it. That selfless decision would save the life of Cheryl Mellor, who'd been shot and lay badly injured on the beach. Her husband, Stephen, was one of 38 victims gunned down that day on June 26 2015 in the ISIS-inspired attack that remains one of the deadliest Islamist attacks in recent history. Thirty of the victims were British. Cheryl survived, thanks to the bravery and calm actions of Allen, then an NHS volunteer first-responder from Essex. Two years later, in 2017, he received the Queen's Commendation for Bravery. But nearly a decade on, Allen, now 71 and working part-time at a university after a successful career pioneering the first electric cabs in London – brushes off the title of 'hero' with typical modesty. 'Given the same set of circumstances – god forbid – I'd do it again,' he says . 'I didn't want the exposure it brought. I just can't stand injustice or people being hurt.' Allen and his then-wife Tracy had holidayed twice before at the five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel in Sousse. They deliberately avoided the school holidays to enjoy the resort at a quieter, more affordable time. At the start of the holiday Allen had tipped the staffer in charge of the sunbeds so he could bathe near the front of the beach each day. But something didn't sit right as the holiday neared its end. 'The previous day, I'd said to Tracy, my ex-wife, 'what's he doing?' because the sunbed guy was looking up and down the beach, ducking under umbrellas. His behaviour was really unusual. I'm sure he must have known. 'Now, he wasn't there at all. None of the locals were. 'The vendors who sold fake glasses and cheap tat on the beach had disappeared. 'Every day the Police were up and down the beach, either on their lovely Arab horses or on their quad bikes. You could set your clock by it. Bear in mind this was day six of seven and we'd been there twice before. 'I just did not feel comfortable.' That feeling proved tragically accurate the next day. 'My gut was screaming at me that something wasn't right so when I heard the first shot, I knew it was gunfire. I grabbed Tracy. She said 'It's fireworks'. I said, 'No it's not' and we started to run. 'The bullets were literally whizzing over our heads. They were so close to us you could hear the sound and people were screaming. I could see the gunman with his weapon as I looked over my shoulder but it was for such a brief moment. It was such a blur.' As others ran to safety, Allen made sure Tracy was secure in their room – then did something few would have dared. 'I threw Tracy into the room and stood there for five or ten seconds and thought I knew I could help,' he recalls. 'I said to Tracy 'I'm going back out'. She said, 'no you're not'. I told her, 'Just stay there, lay on the floor, lock the door, don't open it,' and then I ran from the room before she could say anything else.' By now, the resort had become a nightmare. 'As I was running back towards the incident there were still people running off the beach but unfortunately, by then, there were deceased bodies on the beach. I started crawling around in the sand on my belly, looking for life. There was blood and bodies everywhere. It was like a war zone. 'I was trying to feel for a pulse but no one was alive. Then I touched this one woman and she sort of murmured. Her face was covered in sand and her hand and forearm was about two metres away from her body, detached. It had been blown off completely. 'I asked her, 'Do you speak English?' My name is Allen. I'm here to help,' she replied, 'yes I'm Cheryl.' I told her, 'I'm here to help you'.' Cheryl had suffered devastating injuries and lost a critical amount of blood. But she was alive – and she could speak. Allen did what he could with the meagre supplies he could find. After pouring water over her face and giving her a drink, Allen found a scarf which he wrapped her arm up in and, seeing she had a badly injured leg, he wrapped a towel around that too. To Allen's horror and disgust, as he helped Cheryl he saw a local going through the bags of dead holidaymakers and screamed at him to leave. 'The whole time Cheryl was saying, 'check my husband. Check my husband Stephen'. 'She was laying flat, I was sort of kneeling next to her and I could see he was on the other side of the sunbed and unfortunately I could see he'd been shot several times and he hadn't survived. 'I jumped across after I'd helped her to look at him. I said, 'do you really want to know?' She said, 'please tell me.' I replied 'unfortunately, he's gone.'' Knowing the gunman was still nearby, Allen improvised again to protect her. 'I told her I was going to carry her away from this point but she didn't want to leave. So I told her she needed to 'play dead'. I tipped some sunbeds over there and threw debris over her. 'By then the guy was by the swimming pool and moving onto the main body of the hotel where he was shooting and grenades. It seemed like an eternity at the time even though it was probably 15 to 20 minutes.' Returning to the hotel room, Allen was hit by another shock. 'I went back to the room I'd left Tracy in and I was banging on the door but she wasn't there. She'd left a note which said she was scared and that she'd gone to reception where I later found her.' Time, Allen says, has helped him process what happened. 'I've had, in the past, a few dreams about it but I compartmentalise things,' he explains. 'I've always been very good at sort of putting things in boxes and closing the lid and that's exactly what I did. I buried it.' He and Tracy never returned on holiday together. They have since divorced. Despite the trauma, Allen says he never needed counselling – and didn't seek compensation. 'There is one thing that sticks in my mind from that day – the sight of one of the bodies – but out of respect for the relatives I won't go into detail. I've never taken a penny in compensation, nor would I.' He takes some small comfort from the fact that extremist Rezgui, a 22-year-old electrical student, was shot dead by police that day – despite wishing the police had done more to help the victims in the first place. He says: 'I am glad he was killed because he would have gone to court otherwise and I don't know what the penalties are in Tunisia, but if that had been the UK he'd still be alive with his colour TV, cigarettes, getting his conjugal visits – all paid for by the taxpayers, of course.' What does linger is anger – particularly towards TUI UK, the tour operator. Like the families of many of the victims, Allen believes they were responsible for safety and security breaches at the hotel, which the company has always denied. After the attack, they settled with some of the families out of court, reaching a settlement 'without admission of liability or fault'. Allen insists: 'TUI abdicated all responsibility and for that, I feel they have blood on their hands. Had TUI intervened and told people there had been another incident shortly before at a museum people would have had a choice as to whether to go.' His friendship with Cheryl, however, remains intact – and deeply meaningful. He says: 'For the first two or three years we would ring or text. 'I find a lot of peace in riding my motorbike and last summer I drove down to the south of Cornwall to have lunch with her. She sent me a lovely, very personal, letter. It was absolutely wonderful and one that I will cherish and keep forever. 'We always send a Christmas card. We will never forget each other and I'm sure we will remain friends but time does heal.' In a new documentary on Prime Video called Surviving The Tunisia Beach Attack, Allen – one of several survivors who share their stories – reads out that very letter. 'You put your own life at risk to come and help me and my husband, even though shots were being fired,' Cheryl writes. Allen downplays it all. 'I wish I could have done more.' Though retired from the NHS, after losing colleagues and relatives during Covid, Allen hasn't stopped helping others. Just six weeks ago, he crossed traffic in his car to shield an elderly woman who'd fallen into the road. He then waited three hours with her for an ambulance to come. His sister, he says, calls him 'a cat with nine lives'. 'Only, she tells me you've probably already used about seven,' he jokes. 'She says my job in life is to help people.' And what about luck? 'I don't see myself as lucky in the sense that I've not ever won the lottery or anything. I just don't think it's my time yet. I think there's a lot of good to be done in the world but I don't want anything out of it. 'I'll never return to Tunisia – there are too many other places to see and the Police and locals didn't do enough to help – but I intend to do a lot more travelling on my bike.' As for that fateful moment on the beach, he says: 'People always ask me 'Why did you go back?' Well, it was just instinctual, I suppose. I went back because it was the right thing to do but the real heroes are the ones like Cheryl. She saw her husband shot, pulled through and was able to go back to work.' Surviving the Tunisia Beach Attack, Prime Video, May 25, produced by Yeti Television Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
