NEARLY two months after a freak storm severely damaged their boat in the Mediterranean Sea, a couple from Worcestershire are still stuck in Algeria.

However, Anthony and Cynthia Harold - who owned P.S. Presents, Old Street, Upton-upon-Severn, for 20 years before they sold up in November 2005 to buy a yacht and travel round the world - have now managed to repair the boat with the help of insurance company Pantaenius UK Ltd and their daughter Rebecca.

"I managed to get a transit visa and have been back here in Algeria for the last 10 days," said the 26-year-old, who was on the boat when a 15-minute storm damaged the ship's rudder on a voyage from Morocco to Tunisia on Friday, February 23.

"We've managed to fix what we can on the boat so it's safe to sail. At the moment there are gale warnings - just our luck as soon as the repairs are finished. We are waiting for these to pass and will hopefully be on our way in the next three days or so."

She said once they set sail it should take about five days to get to Tunisia, providing that they do not have any more problems.

We previously reported how the family had to radio for help from the Algerian coastguards who towed them to Tenes - a port about 124 miles from the capital Algiers and believed to be no bigger than Upton-upon-Severn.

They have had to stay on board their boat because they do not have visas and, at one point, armed guards were posted outside. The Algerian authorities charged Mr and Mrs Harold £5,200 for the rescue and then told the family it would cost about £41,000 to get the boat repaired at another port. If they could not pay, they would have to stay.

However, Miss Harold, who lives in Granada, Spain, was allowed to leave after four days, together with with two other crew members, when the Spanish embassy found them places on a flight from Algiers to Barcelona.