A couple who had just embarked on their dream honeymoon in America have been caught up in the deadly Hurricane Ian which is sweeping across Florida.

Aaron Telford and his partner Sergejs Sergejenkovs are stranded in their hotel in Orlando and have been told not to leave for at least two days as the "life-threatening" storm gathers momentum, with catastrophic winds and flooding.

Aaron, 34, managing director of Nucelus Arts in Medway and Sergejs, 35, who also works for the company, had spent their first day at the Universal Studios when news broke that the hurricane was coming their way.

They had been planning to fly on to the Bahamas today (Weds) as part of their 16-day romantic break after getting married at Rochester's Guildhall last month.

Aaron said: "We don't really know what's happening.

"We just got an email saying to go to the hotel and get food and water.

"Our airline said the flight had been cancelled.

"The Americans seem to be pretty used to it but we felt it was a bit like the Covid outbreak. We don't know what to expect."

After arriving on Monday (Sept 26), the hurricane was upgraded from category two to three and then to four, with winds of 130-156mph.

Aaron said: "A lot of Americans who had come to visit left and went home.

"Others working at Universal Studios are just treating it as a couple of days off work. Others were in the bar having a laugh."

Aaron added: "At least it happened at the beginning of our honeymoon.

"It's very, very wet here. If it had been at the end, it would have been pretty stressful going back to work."

The hurricane has struck Cuba where the entire island had a power cut.

Aaron, former King's School, Rochester pupil who grew up in Gillingham, said: "We will certainly look back on this as a time to remember."

Aaron met Sergejs, a Latvian, 11 years ago, when he took on the Nucleus Arts group.

Cafe Nucleus has three locations – the continental-style Cafe Nucleus at the Nucleus Arts Centre in Chatham High Steeet, Cafe Nucleus Lounge in Military Road Chatham and Cafe Nucleus Rochester in the Conservancy Building in the High Street.

The team has a long list of accolades including Good Food Award Winner for Cafes, Taste of Kent Awards and Medway Food and Drink Awards.