Tunisia Britons 'confused' and 'angry' after travel warning

The government has advised British tourists to leave Tunisia

As thousands of British tourists fly home early from holidays in Tunisia after warnings of more attacks, the BBC spoke to some of those waiting to leave and others planning to stay on, as well as people who have had trips cancelled.

'Why didn't they tell us that before we travelled?'

Ruth Osborne, from High Wycombe, on holiday at Port El Kantaoui, said she was "more angry that [The Foreign Office] has changed the advice than worried about the advice itself."

She had originally wanted to change their booking following the Sousse attack - but the advice from the Foreign Office had been reassuring.

"Although the threat level was high, people could still travel to Tunisia, but would have to be vigilant.

"Now they have changed that advice... Why didn't they tell us that before we travelled here? We feel like our lives have been put at risk," she said.

'I have always felt perfectly safe in Tunisia'

Keith Ward, from Nottingham, was hoping to go to Tunisia in September with his wife Patricia and son Mark, but received an email from Thomas Cook on Thursday evening that said his holiday had been cancelled.

He said he was offered a refund or an opportunity to switch the holiday, but he was yet to decide which to accept.

"I think that the FCO is overreacting," said Mr Ward, who has travelled to Tunisia twice before.

"I have always felt perfectly safe in Tunisia and was quite happy to go in September despite recent events.

"This decision will close hundreds of hotels and throw thousands of Tunisian people out of work.

"London is a far more dangerous place than Tunisia."

Londoner Mark Henzley has lived in Sousse for three years and says the current situation is 'heartbreaking'

'I feel far safer here than I ever did in London'

Mark Henzley, a British citizen living in Sousse, described the current situation as "heartbreaking - so many local people will be destroyed by the travel advice.

"The decision has been made on no specific intelligence or a credible threat. It's a perceived idea that something else will happen."

He said he felt far safer in Tunisia than he ever did in London.

"London is pretty much in that situation all the time. The threat level there bounces between severe and imminent pretty much constantly.

"Obviously I frequent the tourist zone here on a daily basis. The level of security has heightened considerably in the two weeks, pretty much straight away to be honest.

"There is a very visual presence of both army national guards and extra police.

"I think it's unfair to say that the government hasn't acted in a way that is going to guarantee no threat is going to happen - because let's face it, that's impossible for any country," he said.

'I have been crying. I have been confused, conflicted'

Helen, who has lived in the capital Tunis for 11 years, said she had never had a problem - but was now "a little more cautious" than she had been before.

"I have been upset in tears crying. I have been confused, conflicted. I am still a little confused. I mean I don't want to leave...

"It's horrible. This country - its main income is tourism."

She said businesses had felt the impact: "We had foreign investors... but they have dwindled over the years since the revolution... tourism was their main source of income and it's gone.

"Hotels are firing people, they're closing, hotels are actually closing. It's scary for the Tunisians. They don't know what's going to happen. For the honest decent Tunisians who are left here and have to live through this they are scared. They are worried about their future."

'My hotel has armed guards at the gates'

Londoner Myles Roberts, on holiday in Monastir, is due to fly back to Gatwick on Saturday.

He says he feels safer there than in his home city.

"When I arrived here on Wednesday we were welcomed by Tunisian ministers at the airport.

"Every road and street corner is covered with police and at least half of them have machine guns.

"My hotel has armed guards at the gates, security staff with scanning devices at the hotel entrance and security staff on the beach.

"I'm concerned about the security risks of transporting such a large number of holidaymakers in a short time span. Surely, that puts us at increased risk of attack."

'Everyone is disappointed here'

Michelle Ayres, from Suffolk, arrived in Sousse on Saturday, and says a lot of people who have just turned up on holiday in the resort don't want to go home.

"We actually feel we would be safer in the hotel than leaving at the moment. We're worried about getting to the airport. Everybody's thinking 'What's going to happen? Is there a threat to us?' and that's why they're getting us out," she said.

"Everyone's disappointed here - and I speak for many people... but obviously they haven't got any option."

'The Tunisian people deserve our support'

Steve Taylor, now back home in Grimsby, was staying just along the beach at the time of the shooting.

He wants to return at the earliest opportunity.

"The Tunisian people deserve our support. It is my intention to return to the country at the earliest opportunity just to prove to the people trying to destroy the country and its economy they will not succeed.

"I feel that the British government are giving in to terrorists by asking all holidaymakers to return home."

'I am staying put'

Julie Barnett-King, 53, who divides her time between Tunisia and London, has been living in Hammamet for about three years. She was in London on the day of the Sousse attack.

"I think most of us expats just love Tunisia and we don't want to abandon it," she told the Press Association news agency.

She said she needed more information before she made a decision about moving back to the UK.

"We really don't know what the full situation is, and until I get that, or there is another major attack, I am staying put," she said.

"Part of me feels like I won't let the terrorists tell me what I can and can't do."

Zoe Smith visited Sousse in 2014 and sensed cultural tensions between tourists and some locals

'The majority of people under 40 didn't want us there'

But Zoe Smith from Kent, who visited Sousse in 2014, says she sensed cultural tensions between tourists and some locals.

"It is becoming an increasingly conservative Muslim country and the acres of wobbling flesh displayed by visitors trying to get a tan were in stark contrast to the black burka-wearing locals.

"The majority of people under 40 didn't want us there.

"The hotel workers who we were permitted to have contact with us (male, middle aged) were lovely - friendly, warm and helpful - but were such a minority that I fear for their future place in society.

"These attacks may signify the death knell for western tourism in Tunisia but for a significant proportion of the population it will be a blessed release."