Newbury woman tells of Egypt chaos

Pamela Webster has seen the deteriorating situation in the country first hand from her apartment in Giza

A NEWBURY woman has told how she has watched the deteriorating situation in Egypt first hand, hearing gunfire from her window.

For the past five years, 68-year-old Pamela Webster has divided her time between her West Street home and her apartment in Giza.

An employee with Lifecycle Software in Mill Lane, Newbury, she works online when in Egypt and has made many friends in the currently strife-torn country.

Yesterday (Wednesday), Mrs Webster was back in Newbury as the situation continued to deteriorate.

In chaotic scenes, several thousand supporters of beleaguered President Hosni Mubarak attacked anti-government protesters.

Mrs Webster said: “It all began peacefully but recently there has been looting. I got back to Newbury at 7am on Tuesday (February 1), having left home in Egypt on Sunday. There were crowds of people trying to get through the check-in desks and to get flights out.

“I also took photos from the roof of my house showing the smoke on the skyline. The shouting and shots got close on Saturday night, but nothing actually came into our village. I do, however, have Egyptian friends who live downtown who were telling me about their preparations for defending their homes from possible looters.”

She added: “There are some very poor people who have nothing to lose and who for years have been kept down by the police and government. With inflation rising, they have got desperate. They have started trashing shops and looting and it has all started to get nasty now.

“By Saturday there had been four separate jailbreaks so some of the country's worst criminals are wandering around, armed.”

She could also see smoke on the horizon and added: “I think it was more likely to be from burning tyres put there to block the roads than from burning buildings. We could hear shouts and small arms fire followed by large bangs.

“What's concerning me now is how my neighbours will survive until things have calmed down.”