A FAMILY was saved by a 'kind' Tunisian man who took them in to his home when gunmen opened fire.

They described the terror as they heard the cries 'run, run, attack, attack' as the incident happened.

Macauley Arnold, 20, is staying in the Tunisian resort of Sousse with his girlfriend Georgia Richards and her family.

The group were heading back from a quad biking trip at around noon [Tunisian time] yesterday when they became aware of what was happening.

Speaking exclusively to the Echo from Tunisia, Macauley said: “At about 12pm we started to walk back to our hotel.

“Everyone was going manic and running about, we thought nothing of it.

"It soon struck us that something was going on as we heard loud bangs.

"A woman with her kids started to shout at us ‘run run attack attack’ so we started to run.

“A local Tunisian man led us into his home and took us up to the top of his house on the roof and gave us water and kept us safe.

"He kept going out to the police and kept us updated."

After the police arrived, the group continued to hear gunshots and bangs.

Macauley said: "We were all scared but the kind man kept telling us relax you're safe."

The Tunisian who took the family in kept the group calm and once it was safe walked them back to the hotel.

It was at this point that the family saw one of the terror suspects be captured by police.

Macauley said: “We hurried back past a man being grabbed by police and local Tunisians grabbing him.

"We then read the news and he was an apparent suspect.”

He said they family is extremely grateful to the man who saved them.

The group, who are staying in the Riu Bellevue- the hotel next to the one targeted- were waiting for news last night and Macauley said they now 'just want to come home.'

He said he has spoken to family and friends via social media to assure them he is okay.

The family, who have been on holiday three days and were due to depart on Wednesday, will be able to catch a flight out of Tunisia as soon as possible.

When they were speaking to the Echo they were gathered with other tourists in the hotel lobby waiting to hear from the reps.

Macauley, who works at Weymouth's Wilko store, said he believes that the terrorists tried to target their hotel, which made them all the more grateful to the man who took them in.

He added: "It's sinking in now. It doesn't seem real."

As the Echo went to press, Tunisian officials said that one gunman has been shot dead and another is being shot dead.

The casualties are believed to be mostly foreign tourists with Britons, Germans and Belgians among the dead.

If you are concerned about anyone staying in Tunisia, call the Foreign Office switchboard on 020 7008 1500.

MACAULEY'S dad, Jon Arnold has told of his fears as he struggled to get hold of his son in the aftermath of the attack.

Jon said: "We were really worried. We couldn't get in touch with them at all."

Jon faced an anxious wait following the attack to discover if his son was safe.

Jon said how the attack would have been even more terrifying for Macauley, who was on his first foreign holiday.

Jon said: "It must have been really scary for him. This is the first time he's ever been abroad."

A FATHER and son caught up in the atrocity have said they feel 'fortunate' to be safe.

Simon and Johnny Brown, also from Weymouth, were walking to the beach where the attack took place as it unfolded.

Speaking from their hotel two down from the one targeted, Johnny said if they had left to go to the beach just five minutes earlier, they may not have been as fortunate.

He described how they were turned back to their hotel as they neared the beach.

Speaking Echo, Johnny, 17, told of what happened. He said they were in their hotel last night awaiting news on what to do next.

“We were going to the beach and we were told not to [go there.] “We said we wanted to go to the beach and then we were told there’s a terrorist attack and we were told to head back to the hotel.

He added: "There were a lot of people there and they all went back into the hotel as quick as they could. It was all quite mad. We are now in our room waiting to hear any further information. We are worried about what will happen next and just want to go home."

He said that he and his dad feel 'lucky'.

He said: “We’ve most definitely been really fortunate.

“There were lots of people running from the beach. It was quite scary.

“We were literally walking down there- five minutes earlier and we could have been there. We’re a bit shaken up.”

Johnny is a lifeguard at Dorchester’s 1610 and a former Kingston Maurward College student.

His dad Simon is a chef at Kingsley Court care home in Weymouth.

The pair have been getting in touch with holiday operator Thomas Cook but at no point did any authorities tell them to stay in the hotel.

Johnny said: “We haven’t got a clue what we’re going to do. We’re seeing what our options are.

“We’ve been left on our own pretty much.”

THE slaughter happened when a gunman, disguised as a tourist, opened fire on the busy beach in the town of Sousse, a popular destination for holidaymakers from the UK and Ireland.

The worst such attack in Tunisia's history came on the same day a man was found decapitated after an attack by suspected Islamic extremists on a French factory and a Shiite mosque in Kuwait was bombed killing at least 25 people.

Although the attacks do not appear to be directly linked they come after the so-called Islamic State called for their followers "to make Ramadan a month of calamities for the non-believers".

Tunisia's Health Ministry confirmed that those killed included Britons, Tunisians, Germans and Belgians. Thirty six others have been wounded.

Bodies covered in blankets were strewn across the beach and medical staff used sun loungers as stretchers to carry away the dead and injured.

The Tunisian authorities said the killer shot dead at the scene was thought to be a young student who had not previously been known to their security services.

Witnesses said he used a Kalashnikov rifle hidden inside an umbrella to shoot the tourists sunbathing on the beach at the Riu Bellevue Park.

His killing spree ended when he was shot dead by police. A bomb was found on his body.

Travel companies have offered tourists the chance to change their holiday bookings to Tunisia in light of today's attack in Sousse which left at least 28 people dead including a number of Britons, Germans, Belgians and an Irish woman.

Thomas Cook said customers due to travel between today and Sunday can cancel their holidays free of charge, while those flying out from Monday up to July 24 can amend bookings for holidays to Tunisia free of charge.

The company said: "We can confirm that the reported hotels are not offered by Thomas Cook, and that none of our customers or staff were in residence at the time of the incident.

"However, we do currently have customers staying in other parts of the resort, and our experienced teams on the ground are continuing to offer every support to them and their families at this difficult time. Thomas Cook would like to extend its most sincere condolences to the family and friends of those affected."

People booked through Monarch or Cosmos Holidays in the next seven days can also choose not to travel and instead change their destination.

The attacks took place at two hotels operated by Spanish company RIU Hotels & Resorts, the Imperial Marhaba and the Hotel Club Riu Bellevue RIU said 565 guests were staying at the five-star Imperial Marhaba at the time, the majority from the UK, and a spokeswoman said travel company Tui operated there.

Tui, which runs Thomson and First Choice, could not confirm whether it operated tours through the hotel.

Thomson said it was "working closely" with its teams in Tunisia, and has set up a helpline for friends and family members of those currently in Tunisia - 0800 088 5372.