Hunt for last Britons in Tunisia after thousands flown home

More than 3,000 holidaymakers and ex-pats have left the north African country in the last 48 hours on emergency flights.

But yesterday the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said between 1,000 and 1,500 ex-pats, independent travellers and small tour group holidaymakers remained in the country.

The FCO released the figures after sending over a team of civil servants to help search for British nationals and clarify precisely how many were left.

It is thought there are around 1,000 ex-pats living in the country.

A "Rapid Deployment Force" of consular staff last night rounded up remaining Britons by phoning hotels and going out searching, an FCO spokesman said.

Yesterday saw more flights returning from Tunisia after a new president was sworn in on Saturday following days of killings and violent looting.

Thomson First Choice on Saturday flew almost 1,500 passengers home on seven flights and Thomas Cook returned 300 people after flying 1,500 home on Friday.

The flights continued yesterday with 116 Saga customers returning to Britain, Thomas Cook flying back more than 100 and Thomson First Choice getting about 60 passengers back.

Both Thomas Cook and Thomson First Choice were due to fly holidaymakers out for Tunisian winter sun breaks on Wednesday but have cancelled them.

Manny Fontenla-Novoa, Thomas Cook Group chief executive, said: "Thanks to the hard work of our experienced teams in Tunisia, and those co-ordinating the operation back in the UK who have worked around the clock to put in place our rescue programme since Thursday evening, we can now confirm the speedy and safe return of 1,800 of our holidaymakers to the UK."

Christian Cull, of Thomson and First Choice, said: "We remain focused on customer safety, our top priority at all times.

"We rose to the challenges of operating in a country in a state of coup and we have been working around the clock to repatriate all of our customers as swiftly and efficiently as possible."

The company urged "a small number of flight-only customers" who had not contacted them to get in touch.

The Foreign Office has advised British nationals "to leave Tunisia unless they have a pressing need to remain".

Trouble flared weeks ago but has become steadily worse.

Tunisia was a tinderbox of problems, with young people struggling to find jobs, civil rights clampdowns, costs rising and a growing anger at former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's corrupt regime. He fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday.

On Saturday, 42 people died in a fire at a jail in Monastir in eastern Tunisia and 1,000 inmates were freed from Mahdia jail following a riot.

An official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the prison director opened the gates to free the convicts in a bid to avoid further bloodshed.

On Saturday night, returning Britons told of their fear at being caught up in the civil unrest.

After cutting short their holidays, some compared the scenes on the streets of the North African country to a war zone.

Security manager Adam Wallace, 22, said: "When we went to the airport today it was a bit unnerving.

"There were police stood on the corners of roads and groups of people hanging about. It did feel a bit intimidating."

Mr Wallace, from Accrington, Lancashire, added: "There were a few smashed-up buildings, there was a petrol station that had been vandalised and there were people looting, but our resort was quite a way from the trouble."

Ross Wiseman, from Sunderland, was less than 36 hours into his holiday when he and his family were brought home.

He said: "Going about the streets before the curfew there were smashed windows, burned-out cars, just one big mess really.

"On the journey to the airport you could see the snipers on the top of buildings with their guns pointing down on us."