A WEYMOUTH couple were enjoying the trip of a lifetime' in China when the earth trembled as they visited an underground museum.

Michael and Linda Braid were in the city of Xian, some 250 miles from the epicentre of last week's earthquake, as the tremors shook the country.

Mr Braid, 51, who has just returned from holiday, recalled the traumatic moments as his wife and their tour party were visiting an underground tomb that had been converted to a museum.

He said: "At the time there was a lot of concrete above our heads and when the earthquake went off there was a lot of panic.

"I was leaning against a big concrete pillar, the pillar shook and I thought it was just construction work going on.

"Then the floor seemed to slide about three feet one way and then three feet the other way.

"My wife thought she was fainting, she was terrified. The guide shouted earthquake' and we just ran about 70 yards to get outside."

Prison officer Mr Braid said they were taken back to their hotel in Chonqing, which was even closer to the epicentre, and they were warned to enter the building at their own risk.

He said: "We went back in and apparently there was an aftershock at about 4am. We never felt it but there were people sleeping outside as they just wouldn't go in.

"We heard there were four fatalities in Chonqing. I feel very lucky in two respects, firstly that we were in a modern building and secondly that the epicentre wasn't closer."

Michael and Linda, 56, were just starting their last week of an enjoyable 23-day tour of China but Michael said his thoughts soon turned to home when the quake hit. He said: "I had been in Shanghai back in 1980 and I wanted to come back to see how it had changed. We decided to do a trip all round China, we went to Beijing, Shanghai, up the Yangtze and back to Hong Kong - it was the trip of a lifetime.

"When the earthquake happened we were actually the closest we went to Sichuan, if we had been in Beijing or Shanghai we would have been alright.

"At first we couldn't get through to our family to let them know we were alright as the phone lines were down."

The couple eventually contacted their relatives and are now safely back at their Grove Avenue home.

During the last week of their trip Mr Braid said he was impressed as he witnessed the swift and efficient reaction of the Chinese authorities at close hand.

He said: "The response has been absolutely amazing."