THE devastation of the Costa Concordia tragedy has brought back terrifying memories for a Margate hairdresser who narrowly escaped an earlier disaster onboard a ferry owned by the company.

Lynne Philp worked on the Costa Eugenio C as manager of the hair and beauty salon when it was caught up in a hurricane in the Bay of Biscay more than 30 years ago.

Three people died on the stricken ship in 1978 and 200 passengers were forced to abandon the holiday of a lifetime as 50ft waves battered the liner.

Lynne, 59, said: "It was a terrifying experience. The ship was rocking so violently and furniture was flying all over the ship.

"People were throwing up everywhere and the crew told the passengers to return to their cabins.

"Two guests died of heart attacks and another passed away after breaking his neck falling down stairs.

"The ship was so close to capsizing completely, like the Poseidon."

Before taking a job aboard the Eugenio C, Lynne managed two salons in Kent and she could not believe her eyes when another Costa cruiser hit the headlines last month.

She said: "In this day and age, with all the technology on board, these things just shouldn't happen.

"It seems it was caused by the captain's human error, but how did nobody hear all the alarms and signals as it sailed off course?"

"It brought back some terrible memories from the time but I wouldn't change my experiences."

Lynne, from Dane Valley in Margate, continued to work on cruise ships for several years despite the ordeal and she visited all corners of the world.