IT was supposed to have been the start of a two-week holiday in the Spanish resort of Calella for Terence and Marion Bowden.

Instead, September 14, 1999, turned into a day of terror when the Britannia Airways Boeing 757 the Bettws couple were travelling in, along with 233 other passengers, crash-landed at Gerona airport.

Mr Bowden, 54, said: "Everything was fine at first, but we noticed lots of telephone calls between the pilot and the stewardess.

"I knew there was something wrong as we circled the airport three times." Mr Bowden and his 54-year-old wife claim they were given no warning of what was to follow.

He said: "There was total silence over the tannoy - nothing was said. We had no warnings of what was about to happen or to get into the recovery position.

"We were talking about something being wrong, and we were agitated and nervous, and then it crash- landed."

The plane crashed three times and broke into three pieces.

Mrs Bowden said: "We thought: 'This is it.' We could see the front of the plane coming towards us and it stopped just before our seats. We thought we would get crushed.

"We were terrified, and I will never forget it.

"I thought I had broken my neck and told Terence to get out. But he said: 'We will live or die together,' and he pulled me out."

Mr Bowden claims the plane crash meant that he had to leave his job as a fleet engineer because of the stress and illness he faced.

He was diagnosed last August with hypopituitarism, underactivity of the pituitary gland, which can cause problems including slowing up of physical and mental functions and muscle pain.

He claims it is a lasting after-effect from the crash.

He said: "I never went to the doctors before the crash and since, I have been seven times. I will never fly again."

Mrs Bowden said: "We still have nightmares and flashbacks, and events like September 11 leave me totally traumatised. We are grateful - but we want answers and it has taken four years."

Today, at the Cardiff Civil Justice Centre, the couple were among those who were due to find out if they have to prove negligence on the part of the airline before they can claim compensation.

The couple say they have both been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and want to draw a line under the incident with the end to their four-year legal battle.

Mr Bowden said: "We have waited four years, when something could have been sorted out six months or a year down the line. If the decision goes against us, so be it, and we will draw a line under that as well."