The Wearside woman who was on holiday when a military coup broke out

Tell us about the most dramatic holiday you've ever been on - and whether it matches the time when a Wearside woman was caught up in a military coup.

Sue Clark had a real tale to tell in 1985 when she got home after getting a real taste of the news in the Far East.

Sue, 29, who worked for Washington Development Corporation at the time, was on a two-week holiday in Thailand when rebels staged the coup.

The uprising collapsed in ten hours but it cost several lives, including two western journalists, and left many wounded.

On a day trip when the tanks rolled in

Sue, from Waldridge, near Chester-le-Street, brought back a copy of the English language newspaper, The Nation, as a reminder of the bizarre holiday.

She was with a group of 40 other people from the North East and had left Bangkok on an excursion when the takeover bid started.

They arrived back in the capital city around 5pm to find it a changed place.

The roads were deserted at rush hour

“It should have been the middle of the rush hour but the roads were virtually deserted. As we got nearer the centre we could see tanks on street corners and soldiers patrolling, ” she said.

Vehicles were being stopped on the outskirts to check identity cards but their bus was allowed through unhindered.

Stay inside - it's a state of emergency

"When we got back to the hotel there was a note under a door advising people not to go out and saying there was a state of emergency, ” she added.

The coup was over as quickly as it started.

We want your memories of holidays which were filled with drama.

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