A FATHER has made a desperate plea to the British Embassy of Cyprus after his fourth attempt to fly home was cancelled.

Jonty Edmondson, of Basildon, has been stranded in Cyprus since the start of March, having flown out on a pre-planned holiday before the coronavirus pandemic worsened.

He was initially due to fly home last week, after the Echo managed to put the British Embassy in touch with him when his first booked flight was cancelled.

However, that was also cancelled, and the Echo made a further appeal to get the 20-year-old help, as he was running out of money and food with nowhere to stay.

After he was taken in by a family, another flight was arranged with easyJet for Monday. This has now been cancelled.

In an emotional email to the embassy, Mr Edmondson, who has his girlfriend Natalia Jones and daughter Florence, aged one, self-isolating at home, said: "At what point does the RAF step in to help us stranded U.K. citizens? I’ve been here almost three weeks, been trying to get home for two weeks and virtually have no money to survive here.

"What am I going to do? You’re saying I need to find accommodation until flights start. Hotels are shut, shops are shut, I have no clean clothes, I won’t have a roof over my head for long, you are telling me I need to rely on friends and family to support me?

"How can I rely on friends and family to support me. I have now paid a combined amount of £500 for flights home which I have not had any back.

"I can’t just be expected to have friends and family hand money to me, which they need in this global pandemic to also survive.

"This is NOT on. I need to get home NOW. I am a father and a family man, I have a girlfriend at home with our child.

"She cannot risk leaving the house with my child for essentials. Public transport is coming to a standstill and I’m the only one with a car.

"I need to get home. Please please please put something in place I don’t care what it is.

"I just need to get home to my family and back to the U.K. I have followed all advice that has been given and provided to me from the foreign office and the embassy and it’s left me stuck in Cyprus."

A UK Foreign Office spokesman said: "We recognise British tourists abroad are finding it difficult to return to the UK because of the unprecedented international travel and domestic restrictions that are being introduced around the world – often with very little or no notice.

"The FCO is working around the clock to support British travellers in this situation to allow them to come back to the UK.

"The Government is seeking to keep key transit routes open as long as possible and is in touch with international partners and the airline industry to make this happen.

"Consular staff are supporting those with urgent need while providing travel advice and support to those still abroad.”