British holidaymakers being flown out of The Gambia

'Awful situation'

Elaine, who is in the country on holiday, told the BBC: "It's total chaos here, even [the] rep does not know what's going on."

Another tourist said they had not received enough information about the situation.

Thomas Cook plans to bring home 985 customers from package holidays over the next 48 hours

The Foreign Office now advises against all but essential travel to The Gambia

One holidaymaker who was waiting at their hotel for their transport home said: "All hotel guests are to leave today, however people were still arriving here for their holiday in the last couple of days.

"We heard about the problems and contacted Thomas Cook. They said we couldn't change our travel dates unless the government site said no travel to Gambia."

Another told the BBC: "My mum and her husband are in Gambia and the internet is down, phones are down and there are no news channels.

"An awful situation which they would have known nothing about if I hadn't called them."

Thomas Cook is offering free amendments or cancellations for holidays to The Gambia scheduled until Friday

Abta advised British tourists on package holidays in The Gambia to contact their tour operator

Thomas Cook said it expected the company's special assistance team would arrive in The Gambia at about 13:30 GMT.

In a statement, Thomas Cook said: "We will operate a programme of additional flights into Banjul airport over the next 48 hours to bring the 985 UK customers we currently have on holiday in Gambia home, including four additional flights on Wednesday 18 January.

"In addition, we have approximately 2,500 flight-only customers in Gambia, whom we are contacting to offer the earliest possible flight availability for return to the UK.

"Our colleagues on the ground in Gambia will proactively contact all customers on holiday with us as soon as possible to prepare for return to the UK."

Two additional flights are due to leave for Manchester, where the first flight is due to land at 18:30GMT, and two will head to London Gatwick. There is also a regularly scheduled flight to Manchester.

Abta advised British tourists on package holidays to contact their tour operator to arrange return flights, while anyone who has travelled independently should speak to their airline.

Those with future bookings should contact their travel company to discuss the options.

Mr Jammeh has decried "extraordinary" foreign interference in his country's affairs and in December's presidential election.

Regional leaders have been trying to persuade him to hand over power to President-elect Mr Barrow, a successful property developer who reportedly once worked as a security guard at an Argos store in north London.