Stourbridge FC boss Gary Hackett back home after fleeing holiday in troubled Gambia
The boss of FA Cup heroes Stourbridge FC was back at home today after being forced to flee Gambia due to mounting political unrest in the west African tourist haven.
Gary Hackett was taking a well deserved break with wife Kate just six days after the Glassboys history-making appearance in the third round of the Cup, which had ended in narrow defeat against Wycombe Wanderers.
But the holiday was cut short when tour operators Thomas Cook gave them 90 minutes to pack their bags and leave for the airport.
The couple were made aware on Tuesday of the worsening political situation sparked by the refusal of Gambian President Yahya Jammeh to step down after losing the recent election, with the threat of military intervention by neighbouring states.
"Everyone had a letter pushed under their hotel door advising us not to go out to the local restaurants," said Mr Hackett.
"I did because the consensus was that nothing was going to happen until yesterday when the new President was due to take over.
"The next morning there was another letter telling us to report to the tour operator at 12 noon. That's when they told us we must be ready to leave by 1.30pm. The whole hotel was evacuated. The staff were in tears because they were going to lose their jobs.
"The airport was in chaos, it was basically first come, first served on the planes. You could see military armed guards arriving from Senegal and Nigeria to try and sort out the situation.
"The worst thing for us was that instead of flying back to Birmingham, we landed at Gatwick and didn't get back to Stourbridge till seven o'clock yesterday morning."
The 54-year-old former professional footballer said the couple had been alerted by the travel company that a changeover in power was due to happen while they were away but it was not anticipating any significant trouble.
He said: "There was no real hint of what was to come.
"The only time we felt any tension was walking along the beach on Wednesday morning when many people had already been shipped out.
"We returned to our hotel sharpish, it didn't feel like the wisest thing to have done."
But he added: "As much as we were inconvenienced by having to come home early, it's nothing to what the people left behind will suffer.
"They are still a third-world country and the people rely so much on tourism.
"At least we are coming home to jobs and a lovely home.
"Their future is much less certain."
The couple were among almost 1,000 UK holidaymakers flown out of the country due to the threat of military action.
