A former Norwich City manager and his wife have found themselves isolated in a hotel room after the Lanzarote resort they were staying at was placed into lockdown.
Ken Brown, who was in charge of the Canaries from 1980 until 1987, and his wife Elaine flew to the Spanish island last week, after booking a holiday to help boost their spirits following the loss of their pet dog.
However, for the past 24 hours the pair have been confined to their hotel room after the coronavirus outbreak placed the resort in a state of lockdown.
Mrs Brown, 65, said: “As Ken is 86 and does have underlying health problems we were desperate to get him home as soon as possible - but Jet2 has been unable to arrange earlier flights for us. We are due to return on Sunday.
“Since then, our time has consisted of watching television in the hotel room, eating and drinking. The hotel has been incredibly good to us and has been giving us food every few hours, so we can’t fault them, but being stuck in a hotel room is no holiday.”
MORE: ‘Extraordinary demand’ sees bus company unable to provide drivers with hand gelMrs Brown said that while the resort was under strict regulations, with the shops, restaurants and bars closed, holidaymakers were permitted to either walk around the hotel grounds or leave to go to pharmacies and medical centres - with police officers monitoring the streets.
She added: “Ken is okay, just fed up with the situation really. He was terribly upset when the dog died and we felt a bit lost really, so thought we would book a holiday to lift our spirits.
“We are being taken care of well by the hotel and are in good health, which is the most important thing, however we would much rather be at home.”
Mr Brown was in charge at Carrow Road for one of the club’s most successful spells, a seven year period in which they won the League Cup and qualified for Europe three times - though English clubs were banned from competition at the time.
The pair have since settled in Norfolk and still live in the county, near Norwich.
MORE: ‘Work from home and avoid bars, clubs and theatres’ - government’s latest coronavirus advice
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