Woman flew to Turkey with blind date she met on Tinder just hours before coup attempt - then sent date packing and plans to enjoy holiday alone

Nicole Graham, 20, from South Shields, had planned to spend her holiday to the coastal resort of Marmaris with her mother and younger sister.

But after a passport mix-up meant they could no longer join her, she decided to make the trip into a blind date with a man she met on dating app Tinder.

The auxiliary nurse, who lives at The Nook, landed just hours before an attempted military coup which has so far left 161 people dead.

She is now among thousands of British holidaymakers left stranded in the country after flights to and from the UK were cancelled.

But the fun-loving 20-year-old says she is in no rush to get home, and is determined to have a good time on her own after sending her disappointing date packing.

"I'm having an great time and I'm just going to chill and enjoy the rest of my holiday," she said.

"The other guests at the hotel are really nice and friendly, and they've said I can hang out with them.

"Nobody's really worried at all. I feel perfectly safe."

Nicole booked to go on holiday to the Turkish Riviera with her mother and 14-year-old sister. But on the eve of the holiday, they realised her sister's passport had expired and there was no time for her to get another one.

"You can't get an emergency passport the same day for a child, only for an adult," she said. "My mam obviously didn't want to come and leave my sister behind."

Rather than miss out on her trip, Nicole agreed to take a man she met on Tinder as blind date instead.

"We had just been chatting and he asked me to go out with him on Friday, but I said I was going away. He said 'I wish I was coming with you' - and I thought ''why not?'," she said.

"I'm just really spontaneous and all about the banter."

Nicole said the trip would have gone to waste, but she was able to change the name on the holiday package booking, and her date booked his own flight.

The couple met for the first time just before the flight at Newcastle Airport. But romance did not flourish, and Nicole said she sent her date packing. She said is now waiting for a flight home.

"I was hoping for a fun time, but he was just very serious, and always on his phone," she said.

"I'm perfectly happy staying on here on my own. I'm just going to chill out by the pool.

"The beach is only ten minutes away, but I don't think I'm going to leave the hotel."