UP TO 25,000 Britons were facing possible evacuation from Lebanon last night as the Foreign Office prepared for worsening hostilities in the country.

The Foreign Office has told Britons to gather their travel documents and prepare for “departure at short notice”. It has a duty to assist dual nationals if they request help.

A rapid deployment team, including consular officials and staff from the Ministry of Defence, was due to be flown into Lebanon by the RAF last night to co-ordinate activities.The carrier HMS Illustrious and the assault ship HMS Bulwark were also heading for the region.

An official said a decision to start getting Britons out was “not quite there yet”, but any evacuation plan would involve close liaison with other European Union countries with citizens in Lebanon. Yesterday, however, some Britons accused the government of ignoring their plight as Spain and Italy began moving their nationals to safer parts of the country or across the border to Syria.

Clair Vainola, 31, from Newcastle, who has lived in Beirut since last November, said: “Nobody from the embassy is saying I am going to get evacuated at any minute. This is not a game, it’s not eggs from the sky, it’s missiles and they are right over my head.

“I was going to make a run for it on Friday and get a taxi to Syria. The problem is I’m a single woman on my own. I could be murdered or captured by terrorists or anything like that.”

Up to 35,000 Britons travel to Lebanon each year. BMED, a franchise of British Airways, flies eight services a week to the city throughout summer.

The airline was forced to suspend its services to the country last week when Beirut’s airport — and at least two military airstrips — were bombed by Israel. No commercial aircraft can now land in the capital.

Yesterday, the French authorities discussed sending ships to Lebanon to rescue up to 20,000 French nationals. The move would require the Israeli navy to lift a blockade of Lebanese ports.

Spain has bussed 116 of its citizens and 10 others across the border into Syria and flew them to an airbase outside Madrid last night. About 410 people were heading in an Italian convoy for the Syrian port of Latakia, where they will be picked up by two C130 military aircraft.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are advising people to stay put, keep a low profile, exercise caution, keep in touch with the embassy and heed local advice. We are in regular contact with our EU partners regarding planning for the possible assisted departure of foreign nationals.”

Additional reporting: Yuba Bessaoud and Sara Hashash

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