Coronavirus: Somerset family stranded in Goa lockdown

A family on holiday in India say they are low on food and morale is at "rock bottom" after being stranded there and unable to fly home.

The group of nine, from Somerset, flew out on 6 March and were due return on 27 April but Goa is now under a coronavirus lockdown.

Alan Bryant said morale was low, "especially with the two that have underlying health problems".

The Foreign Office says it is doing all it can to get British travellers home.

Mr Bryant said only four hotel staff were left and other foreign guests had since flown home.

"The hotel is running out of food. We risked going out this morning and managed to get a loaf of bread and 30 eggs between nine of us," he said.

"We have cobra snakes coming into hotel grounds and rats running everywhere."

The family group flew out before the coronavirus lockdown began in UK and India.

Mr Bryant added: "We're having conflicting things on social media about flights that don't exist, people booking flights and paying vast sums of money only to find out there are cancelled. It's pretty grim really."

He said some flights were £2,000 each.

The group, from Wellington in Somerset, were flying out to mark Kimberley Trott's 70th birthday on 3 April.

"We all just want to get home as soon as possible," said Mr Bryant, who is Mr Trott's the son-in-law.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We know it's a difficult time for many British travellers abroad - especially those with challenging circumstances.

"Our Consular Teams are doing everything they can, especially for those in difficulty, to keep Brits informed on the latest developments and help them return - on commercial flights where they are still available or special charter flights as well.

"We'll continue working around the clock to bring people home."

Local MP Rebecca Pow said "specific arrangements are being made" and they were hoping to bring forward the plans for rescue flights "imminently".

She said the situation for British nationals in India was complex due to the distances involved.