WHILE Malvern residents relaxed over the Easter weekend, one local man experienced riots, gunfire and looting.

Ian Claytor, formerly of Newtown Road, is the general director of a tour operator and two hotels based in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet state in Central Asia.

Several people died, many were injured and the country was thrown into turmoil last Thursday, when opposition protesters stormed government buildings claiming election results had been fixed and the president, Askar Akayev, fled.

An interim government is now in place, presidential elections are set for June. Speaking yesterday (Thursday), Mr Claytor said things were more or less back to normal.

His diary of events e-mailed to friends and family back home last week tell a different story.

"To be honest yesterday was pretty awful. The day started quietly, almost normally, but as it progressed the atmosphere got more and more tense," he wrote on Friday.

Mr Claytor spent Thursday in the office, where he made arrangements to increase security with his two hotel managers and saw more and more people walking towards the main square. Sending his staff home early and locking up his office, he went home.

He described hearing all sorts of noises as the evening progressed including glass breaking when the local supermarket was ransacked.

"The sound of breaking glass went on all night. People were calling out, shouting and chanting," he wrote.

On Friday morning, Mr Claytor described huge crowds picking through the burnt out carcass of the Beta Stores supermarket. He was told the store manager was reduced to tears by the site of people walking past carrying looted goods.

Shots were fired at the supermarket later that morning. Mr Claytor and visitors from another tour company were talking outside his office and had to flee inside and lock the door.

However, he said he did not feel unduly worried during the crisis, just concerned about the future.

The affect of the unrest on his own businesses and the tourism industry is a major concern for Mr Claytor, who is president of the Kyrgyz Association of Tour Operators this year.

He wants people to know that the riots were out of the ordinary, the situation in Kyrgyzstan is calming down and the country is ready and willing to welcome visitors.

A former Somers Park Avenue Primary School (1958-1964) and Chase High School (1964-1971) pupil Mr Claytor has lived in Kyrgyzstan since 1995. .

Kyrgyzstan Factfile

A former Soviet republic, Kyrgyzstan declared its independence in 1991.

It has a population of around 4.7 million people, 75 per cent of whom are Muslim.

Lake Issyk Kul, the world's second largest mountain lake, is a popular holiday destination.

Fermented mare's milk is a traditional Kyrgyz drink.

The country formed an important link on the Great Silk Road to China, which it borders.

Traditionally the Kyrgyz are a nomadic people who graze their animals in the pastures of the high mountain meadows each summer.

The Kyrgyz people are known for their hospitality and are making every effort to encourage tourism.