A ST ANDREWS holidaymaker, who has volunteered to stay in Thailand to hunt for British tourists missing in the Asian tsunami disaster, yesterday spoke of the devastation around him and told why he has not given up hope of helping more families find out what happened to their missing relatives.

Golf professional David Holloway—who runs golf holiday business golfingfife.com in St Andrews—was in Phuket with his Thai girl friend when the waves hit.

Instead of heading home, however, he has spent the past 12 days hunting through hospitals and mortuaries with a list of missing Britons.

David (38), who has already reunited a brother and sister, explained the grim and chaotic task facing rescuers and told how hope was fading of finding any more missing people alive.

Speaking from Phuket, an emotional David said, “I am out here on vacation, but after the tsunami I decided to stay and help British families find their loved ones. It’s over a week now and they say no one is expected to be found alive.

“I visit the hospitals each day with my list of missing persons. Hope is fading because people are still being found but not alive. The pictures I have seen of the victims will remain in my head for a long time.

“The smell around the hospital is dreadful.

“The pictures of dead people hang on the hospital notice board waiting for someone to claim them.

“I have received around 300 Emails from families from the UK, many looking for family here, many wishing me luck, and some from sick people.

“I have had companies send Emails to me which are headlined urgent, or missing person, or please can you help me. When I have opened them it’s been from companies trying to sell me their products and had nothing to do with the tsunami. It is sick and very upsetting.”

David flew to Thailand in December to enjoy a two-month holiday.

On December 26, the couple were in a rented holiday home just a mile from Phuket beach when the tsunami struck.

“I felt the room shake as the earthquake took place. It went on for a few minutes. About an hour later I could hear sirens everywhere and I knew something was wrong,” David said.

The couple went to the seafront and everyone was in a panic.

The next day they went to Pattong, one of the worst hit areas.

He said it was a horrendous sight, with dead bodies fished out of the sea, cars and boats smashed into shops and 83 dead people washed up on the beach.

Feeling lucky not to have been hit by the disaster, the couple went to the hospital to give blood. But it was when they went to the airport to inquire about a flight home and saw the pictures of missing loved ones, that the couple decided to stay on to help.

Having encouraged families of the missing to get in touch with them via davidholloway@golfing fife.com, the couple have been checking David’s Emails every day and trawling through hospitals, streets and hotels trying to find the missing.

David, originally from Walheath, near Birmingham, added, “I know the search has stopped here but I’m going to continue looking. What gives me hope is that while many are still missing, not many British have been found dead. I realise many will never be found but there is always a chance. I do hope that after all the bad news up until now, some good news will come. My deepest sympathies go out to the families back at home.”

David, a professional PGA golfer, has worked as a golf instructor in Germany and Austria. He runs packages from St Andrews where holidaymakers are coached at some of the world’s top courses.