A RETIRED police officer told today how panicking male passengers pushed in front of women to reach the lifeboats on the stricken luxury cruise ship which ran aground in Italy.

Edwin Gurd, from Burley in the New Forest, was shocked as he watched the men force their way on to the boats, putting other passengers in danger of being crushed.

Former Chief Inspector Gurd, 64, and his wife Liz, 58, were on board the cruise ship Costa Concordia when it smashed into a rock off the coast of Tuscany in Italy.

At first women and children boarded the lifeboats in an orderly manner as male passengers waited on deck.

But as the ship began to list more and more, the traditional SOS rules were abandoned by some of the 3,206 passengers.

Recounting chilling scenes reminiscent of the Titanic disaster, Mr Gurd, one of the last to leave the ship, said: “My wife got on lifeboat No 17 and we got as many women and children on as possible.

“But there was later quite a lot of panic from the men, who were forcing their way on to the boats.

“The men were stressed and panicking. They were pushing in front of women who should have got on first.

“There was a real danger of crushing injuries because of it.”

It was exactly 9.30pm, less than three hours into the journey when disaster struck.

Mr Gurd described how the £360m ship lurched and everything was plunged into darkness when he and his wife were in their cabin.

An announcement on the PA system said there had been an electrical fault but, unknown to the liner’s guests – which included 25 British passengers and 12 British crew – the liner had hurtled into a rock just off the island of Giglio.

The blow caused a 200ft gash through the ship’s side tearing it wide open.

Mr Gurd described how he and his wife “had a feeling that something was not right”

so the couple took their documents and lifejackets to the lifeboat station.

Despite passing crew members telling passengers there was “nothing to worry about”

and urging people to return to cabins, Mr Gurd said he continued to the muster station because the ship was listing slightly.

He said: “I looked out from the ship and saw the cliffs on the shore. They were only 50 metres away and I thought ‘what are we doing so close?’ “I could not believe how close it was. We should never have been that close.”

Mr Gurd described the panic that swept through the passengers dressed in elegant evening wear who had come straight from dinner as the ship tipped.

He said: “They started lowering the lifeboats shortly after 10pm and the ship seemed to be listing bit by bit.

“They seemed to have a problem releasing the lifeboats and I think it may have been the angle the ship was listing at by then.

“One or two of them virtually just dropped into the water.

“My wife got on lifeboat No 17 and we got as many women and children on as possible.

“But there was later quite a lot of panic from the men, who were forcing their way on to the boats.”

He added: “I stayed behind because I was told it was full and went up to deck four where the inflatable lifeboats were, but the crew were struggling to release those too.

“The ship was listing more and more at this time and I was becoming quite apprehensive.

“By this stage I was having to hold on to a handrail to stand upright against a sloping deck.

“Some people were sitting down so as not to fall over.

“You don’t expect the ship to turn over but the way it was going it was looking more and more precarious.

“The list had become so severe we were in danger of slipping through the handrail into the sea.”

It was nearly an hour after Mr Gurd’s wife had escaped the sinking liner when finally one of the lifeboats, which had already taken passengers to shore, returned and he was able to board that.

He said: “The boat took us to the village quay and as I looked back the ship was virtually on its side. We were incredibly lucky.

“My wife and I were reunited with each other after arranging a rendezvous at the quayside by ringing home and speaking to (our daughter) Brenda.

“A lot of people on the quayside had been in the water and were suffering from hypothermia.”

He described how villagers were “marvellous” bringing out blankets and opening up the church where people were given religious cloaks to help them keep warm.

The couple, who flew home from Nice last night, had paid £900 each to go on the weeklong cruise and had visited Barcelona, Majorca, Sardegna and Sicily.

Mr Gurd said: “We have lost all our property – our clothing, my wife’s gold watch, but at least we are alive.

“It will be a while though before we take another cruise.”