Elton wife relieved after loved one flees Libya

Mar 2 2011 by David Holmes, Chester Chronicle

THE wife of an oil worker who was stranded in Libya is relieved her loved one is now safe.

Margaret Lockhart, 60, Elton, was frantic with worry about husband Jim, a design engineer for a Libyan company in Brega.

But on Sunday the oil firm arranged for Jim, 61, and his colleagues to be put on a bus to the port of Benghazi where they were rescued by HMS Cumberland which took them to Malta.

Fortunately, the three-hour road trip was uneventful despite her fears of a mercenary attack.

Mrs Lockhart, who is unsure when Jim will fly home, said: “There is a chance it could be today. He’s in Malta. The company put him up in accommodation and is arranging the flights.”

Mrs Lockhart gave TV interviews to put pressure on the government to take action when she feared not enough was being done to bring Jim and other stranded Britons back home.

She was not sleeping and eating and said her mind had been racing with worry.

Now relaxing at home, Mrs Lockhart, who has grown-up children James and Janice, feels emotionally drained.

“I just feel shattered. I’m feeling it now. When Jim comes home I might go and see my family in Scotland for a long weekend,” said the housewife, who like her husband is originally from Glasgow but came to live in this area more than 30 years ago.

Mrs Lockhart, who had criticised the government for taking ‘far too long’ to evacuate UK citizens from Libya, added: “I just hope lessons have been learned and that nothing like this happens again.”