A doctor living in Sefton has been left "heartbroken" after a hurricane has destroyed his family's home in the Bahamas.
Matt Riley was born in Freeport, the main city on the island of Grand Bahama to his Bahamian mum and English dad.
The 26-year-old's parents moved to England for work when Matt was two years old and eventually settled in Ormskirk.
All of Matt's relatives from his mum's side still live on the island.
The doctor and his family have been left devastated after Hurricane Dorian ripped through their family's home and businesses.
The hurricane hit the Grand Bahama Island as a category 5 on Sunday - the most severe form of a storm.
Matt told the ECHO : "I was born in Freeport and my parents relocated to England for work.
"I've been living in England since I was two and a half.
"We go back every year, my mum's entire family are still there."
The doctor said his family were trapped in their home for two days and couldn't leave the house as the storm sat on top of them.
He also had sporadic contact with his grandma and auntie due to signal failure.
The 26-year-old added: "I spoke to my grandma and auntie, but it was intermittent.
"I didn't know if it was signal issues they were having or because of the damage.
"The hurricane was sat on top of them for 48 hours because it stalled and completely stopped moving.
"They couldn't leave their house and were trapped for two days.
"They’ve had friends who have now been rescued who were trapped inside their roofs for pretty much that length of time because the water had risen so high.
"They were sheltering in there until they could be rescued."
After the storm, Matt's family assessed the damage of their beloved homes and businesses.
Matt said when his uncle, Neil Burrows arrived at his shipping company's office, a ship had washed up in his car-park.
His entire office had also been flooded and damaged by the devastating storm.
He told the ECHO: "When the storm passed my family went out to asses the damage.
"My uncle's office had completely flooded and a ship washed up in his car-park.
"It is quite difficult to assess the damage as some places are still inaccessible.
"My family are happy to be alive and they're trying to remain positive.
"They are feeling a bit despondent about what has happened and what happens now.
"It's their entire way of life that has been destroyed.
"My auntie works at the main airport, which has been completely destroyed and so effectively she has no job to go back to."
Matt has now sent a GoFundMe page to raise funds for supplies for people who have been affected by the hurricane.
He said: "It was so painful seeing the island in destruction and wondering what the future holds for my family and the island.
"I had to do something.
"I was constantly refreshing Twitter and I couldn't take seeing it anymore and so had to do something for them."
The doctor hopes that the money raised can help with supplies such as clothes, first aid, clean water and food.
Matt's uncle, who owns a company called Five Star Shipping on Grand Bahama, is committing to shipping supplies from Florida to the islands as soon as is logistically possible to aid with relief efforts.
To donate to the GoFundMe page please click here.
