A FAMILY of refugees who fled from the volcanic island of Montserrat to Preston have spoken of their desire to return home, a year after abandoning their homes after a massive eruption.

Diana West and her family have spent the past year settling into their new home, in Ringwood Road, Holme Slack, only able to find out what is happening to their Caribbean island by watching the news. But while Diana, whose daughter and grandson, Preston basketball team ace Clyne Silcott, lives on the same street, says she has settled into Preston, she is still yearning to return to Montserrat.

She told the Citizen: "I have been in Preston for 11 months and have settled in but I really want to go home as soon as it is safe to do so. I haven't spoken to anyone on the island since the disaster but it is my home and I want to go back.

"Fortunately, because my relatives live near here I don't feel alone. I know some people who have lost contact with their relatives."

Diana, who described her life on Montserrat as 'domesticated', spent her last few days on the island gradually watching the volcano destroy much of the island. Diana's family was among the last to be evacuated. The lava mountain was visible from their house.

After being given only a few hour's notice to abandon their home, Diana moved to Preston to stay with Diana's relative, Porter Street resident Maria Forbes. After a spell in a nearby refuge, Diana moved into her current home.

Thinking of the future, she added: "Although this is the first eruption I have seen, I think things are getting calmer and hopefully I will be able to return home and pick up the pieces."

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