A young Irish woman teaching in Egypt has come perilously close to the continuing unrest in Egypt.

Rebecca McLaughlin from Strabane, County Tyrone, is working as a teacher in Alexandria, but this week the violence finally drove her out of her home.

The 22-year-old believes the safest option was to "get out of the city."

"I got a call from the Irish Embassy on Wednesday morning advising us to get out and get out today," McLaughlin told the press. "We've been told there may be clashes with the police very close to where we live."

McLaughlin was lucky to secure a last minute Canadian flight from Alexandria to Jordan.

"The situation has become more unpredictable, it just seems explosive and really unstable," she added.

"I just feel so uncertain, sometimes I'm quite scared, other times I'm okay and I think it will be fine. I have been able to speak to my parents and let them know what's going on. I think they are worried but they're trying not to let me know that so I don't panic.

McLaughlin plans to stay with the father of a friend from Belfast in Doha in Qatar for a couple of weeks in the hope that stability will return.

McLaughlin added: "What's happening hasn't changed my opinion of the Egyptian people, they are all really lovely. I just want everyone at home to know that I'm okay."