FARMER Bill Osborne faced every parent's worst night- mare when a deadly earthquake struck his son's home city of Christchurch in New Zealand.

The 67-year-old Lydney town councillor sent frantic emails and spent hours on the phone, fruitlessly trying to get through to a British Foreign Office helpline to try and track down his son John, 35.

"I was literally shaking with worry," he said. "When he rang me to say he and his family were fine, I was still shaking – but with relief."

John's wife Jo and two-year-old son Benjamin were at home in the suburb of Somerfield, not far south of the badly-hit business district, when the quake hit at 12.51pm local time on Tuesday.

As they took cover, their wooden house bent and swayed as the earth shook, but stayed upright. They did not need to be evacuated.

John sent a reassuring message to his dad soon after the quake. But the email never arrived due to disrupted communication lines.

When the pair finally spoke, John was in the thick of the rescue operation, working through the night at his job at Christchurch Hospital, getting medical supplies for hundreds of injured people.

The 6.3-magnitude earthquake caused devastation to New Zealand's second city. However, only one ward of the main hospital had to be evacuated.

While Jo and Benjamin were less than 10 miles from the epicentre when the quake struck, John was 250 miles away on a business trip.

"In a way John is lucky not to be rich, as the home he bought is a cheaper wooden structure, rather than a brick one," said Bill. "Jo and Benjamin were at home when the earthquake hit, but they were fine.

"I only got a few words with John – he rang me after seeing my email. He received three urgent calls while I was on the phone to him, and he was arranging to get all kinds of supplies, including gowns, drugs and bandages couriered out to the hospital wards.

"John is always the first to jump into the thick of it and help in an emergency, it's in his nature.

"Once I knew he and his family were safe, I let him get on with the important job at hand. I would imagine he'll be working 24/7, doing all he can to help."

Bill's fears were compounded when he was unable to get hold of Jo's parents in Norfolk.

"I immediately thought the worst: that they'd had some awful news and had jumped on the first plane, but I've since found out they are on holiday in Malaysia."

As The Forester went to press, 75 deaths were confirmed, while 300 people were missing.

To ask for help tracing missing friends or relatives in the Christchurch area, call 0207 008 8765 or the Red Cross in New Zealand on 0064 7850 2199.