Royal Navy to rescue holidaymakers stranded abroad

Three Royal Navy ships are being sent to rescue British holidaymakers stranded in continental Europe by the volcanic dust cloud from Iceland.

In the meantime, the European Council of Transport Ministers is considering evidence from several test flights carried out over the weekend and will deliver its verdict on whether it is safe to resume flights later this afternoon.

Speaking after an emergency meeting this morning, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said HMS Ark Royal, HMS Albion and HMS Ocean will be mobilised to bring holidaymakers and business travellers home.

An estimated 200,000 Britons have been trapped overseas - many of them families who went away for the Easter holidays - since a volcano erupted in Iceland, firing plumes of volcanic ash up to the atmosphere and creating a no-fly zone over much of northern Europe.

Mr Brown said one ferry would be plying the English Channel today; one is being moved to the Channel and another ship already on its way to Spain to pick up troops may also be able to collect some civilians who have been stranded.

Tens of thousands of holidaymakers and business travellers are stranded in the United States, Asia and even further afield. Mr Brown said he was holding talks with the Spanish authorities with a view to flying British passengers back to Spanish airports, from where they could travel to the UK.

Ferries are expected to rescue more than 40,000 passengers, Eurostar will bring more than 20,000 holidaymakers home and more than 20,000 holidaymakers and business travellers will travel back through the Channel Tunnel.

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