A COUPLE from Horwich have described their terror after being caught in the deadly Nepal earthquake.

Malcolm Timms had been in Nepal for two weeks with wife Sidney when their hotel was damaged by the disaster — forcing them to sleep in tents.

The pair did not wash or change their clothes for four days after the quake struck.

Mr Timms has spoken of the terrifying moment he and his wife, both in their sixties, had to clamber down an external staircase to escape their second-storey hotel room.

He said he could not even see where to put his feet the earth was moving so much.

They left behind what they described as horrifying scenes of poverty on Wednesday, leaving Kathmandu and flying back to Manchester via Dubai.

The 7.8 magnitude quake has killed more than 6,000 people, with Nepalese authorities estimating that the figure could ultimately exceed 10,000.

European Union officials say there are 1,000 EU citizens still unaccounted for following the disaster.

Mr Timms said: "We were just sitting in our apartment, chatting to the two cleaners, when all hell broke loose.

"It was just absolute terror. You are so disorientated from the shaking and the cleaning girls were screaming. The noise was unbelievable and everything just started to shake.

"It was like a train ripping through the apartment.

"Things were moving so fast. I looked down the stairs and they were just grey concrete. I could not tell where they were as they were swaying.

"You have no concept of time. You could hear screaming of young girls.

"My wife had a knee replacement last year and it was very difficult getting down. By the time we got to some lawn nearby it was still going on.

"We were fortunate as our hotel was not badly damaged, as other buildings around us were collapsing."

Mr Timms, aged 63, is a semi-retired businessman and was in Nepal advising budding entrepreneurs on behalf of Scottish charity Challenges Worldwide, with his wife, aged 68, accompanying him on the trip.

They were able to swiftly tell son Alex and daughter Helen they were fine after making contact on Skype.

But he voiced frustration at the lack of assistance given by the UK government.

When he rang them to say he was safe and unhurt, they simply said they would relay that to anyone who enquired.

Mr Timms added: "I then said 'how am I going to get out of this place?'

"They just asked if we had tried our airline."

He said Nepal's infrastructure had collapsed within minutes of the earthquake, with the power down, roads damaged, and people had no access to fuel, clean water or the internet.

Mr Timms said: "It was very traumatic. It was horrifying poverty. You saw people washing themselves in broken pipes, and women drinking from dirty wells which smelt horrible.

"That guy under the rubble for five days. They thought it was a statue at first because the skin was so white but then he started to move."

For the four days after the quake, Mr and Mrs Timms slept outside in makeshift tents and were unable to change their clothes.

He added: "I just could not sleep. We erected a tent with some material from the hotel but the rain came in and we were soaked, sleeping in an inch of water.

"There was nowhere to wash, nowhere to go to the toilet, nowhere to brush your teeth

"This is my first earthquake and I survived. Hopefully it will be my only one."

The UN on Wednesday launched a "flash appeal" for £270 million to assist Nepal over the next three months.

You can donate to the Nepalese aid appeal through the Disasters Emergency Committee at www.dec.org.uk.