A SCUBA diving instructor from East Yorkshire who went to school in York is stranded in the Philippines because of the Coronavirus outbreak.

Katherine Banks, from Pocklington, went to Bootham School and used to work in retail in the city before leaving to work teaching scuba diving on a small island in the Philippines for a year.

She said: “I’ve been trying to get home since Saturday. I’ve had flights cancelled rescheduled and cancelled again I’ve booked another flight only for the transit country, Hong Kong, to not let any transit passengers.

“I’ve spent about £3,000 so far and the only place I’ve got is stuck in Cebu city.

“I can no longer return to the peaceful island I was on because of lockdowns.”

Katherine said that she was concerned for her safety. She said: “I have a few health problems and am on several medications so I decided I should try to come home, before the UK government advised us to and flights are cancelled or extortionate prices.

“I’m in Cebu city which is on complete lock down from the 29th so I won’t even be able to leave my hotel room.

“I have been told I can still order room service and I won’t get kicked out the hotel but that is a concern.

“The only advice from the government is to try to book flights but these flights are about £4,000.

"Or to try to get a sweeper flight, to register for a sweeper flight to Manila I need to have already booked and paid for a flight from Manila to the UK with no guarantee that I will get a flight to Manila or that I will be able to get back to my hotel in Cebu because of lockdowns.

“The UK Government need better organisation on who gets the flights to Cebu. Currently the organization is everyone arrive on mass, with bags checked out of hotels that we can no longer book, at 5am and hope for the best. Many people are getting stuck at the airport either in Cebu or Manila.”

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We recognize 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.

"We are working around the clock to support British travellers in this situation to allow them to come back home. 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.”

For Philippines travel advice click here