Thousands of British tourists are heading back to the UK to escape the violence in Tunisia
British tourists have described scenes of violence in Tunisia amid a state of emergency prompted by violent protests.
Tour operators have organised emergency flights back to the UK and the majority of holidaymakers are expected to return home by the end of Saturday.
Passengers arriving at Gatwick said it was frightening to see the rioting and the armed guards protecting the planes.
The Foreign Office has advised against all non-essential travel to Tunisia and outbound flights have been cancelled.
A curfew was imposed between 1800 and 0600 local time in and around the capital Tunis.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said British people currently in Tunisia without a pressing need to be there should leave.
"Airspace is currently open over Tunisia, but this situation is moving rapidly and may change," he said.
Foreign Office travel advice states, external that the situation is "changing rapidly and is unpredictable".
A specialist rapid deployment team has been dispatched to assist embassy staff, which is due to arrive on Sunday.
"We urge any British Nationals in Tunisia to observe the curfews in place and to stay indoors wherever possible," Mr Hague added.
'Unpredictable'
Some tourists unable to leave on Friday told the BBC they were forced to hole up in their hotels overnight, and taxis trying to leave resorts had been stopped because of the curfew.
The country's main airport in Tunis was closed for several hours - and some flights, including with British Airways, have been cancelled - but the resort airport of Monastir is open.
So far, tour operator Thomas Cook has flown out most of its 1,800 UK and Irish holidaymakers from Monastir and a final flight for those remaining was scheduled to return to Manchester on Saturday morning.
Thomson and First Choice have organised seven repatriation flights , externalon Saturday - four to Manchester, one to Glasgow, one to Birmingham, one to Gatwick and one to East Midlands.
A spokeswoman for the company said on Saturday morning that it was committed to bringing home all of its customers - approximately 1,500 of them - within 24 hours.
"For the majority who are on package trips, that's very straightforward - they're in our hotels and our reps are putting them on coaches to the airport," she said.
"About 400 have booked flights only, so we're getting in touch with as many of them as we can by text message, telling them to get themselves to Monastir airport and then we'll get them on one of those repatriation flights.
There is still a heavy security presence on the streets of the capital Tunis
"Our website is also up-to-date and they can call our 24-hour helpline for advice."
The scenes follow weeks of demonstrations over corruption, unemployment and high food prices in Tunisia.
The country's president, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, was forced from power on Friday and fled the country for Saudi Arabia.
'Gunshots'
Richard McKenzie spoke to the BBC from Monastir and said there was considerable "stress, anger and confusion" among tourists gathered at the busy airport.
"There's no real queue system, just massive hordes with no order," he said.
Mr McKenzie said he came across demonstrators in the town of Sousse: "People were banging on our taxi shouting in French. It was nerve-wracking and we felt quite worried.
"Some people have seen hotels being looted. We actually saw a police station get petrol bombed."
One passenger Pauline, who arrived back at Manchester airport on Saturday afternoon, said the situation had been "very frightening".
"We heard all the gunshots, we saw all the fires," she said. "There were soldiers with guns all along the road, so it was quite intimidating."
But David Wilson, headteacher at a British school in Tunis, told the BBC he was staying.
"I don't feel under any personal threat, and I don't think a lot of Brits and expatriates feel under personal threat.
"This is very much a movement that's been aimed at the family of Ben Ali, and he's now gone. So I think things can return to normal, but it won't be easy. It won't be done overnight."
Summer holidays
Simon Calder, travel editor of the Independent newspaper, said Tunisia's tourist industry would be hit hard.
Protesters are angry at government corruption, high unemployment and soaring food prices
"This is the key booking weekend for summer holidays for British people," he told the BBC.
"Today [and] Monday is when they would be expecting tens of thousands of bookings, but with the reports coming out, it's very hard to imagine anyone putting Tunisia at the top of their wish list."
Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt told the BBC he hoped Tunisian politicians would be able to establish an interim coalition government to take the country through to free and fair elections.
"And [we hope] that in that intervening period there will be calm and order restored, which clearly is in everyone's interest and, of course, in the interests of British nationals who are there," he added.
There are thought to be about 1,000 British expats living in Tunisia.
Foreign Office officials said that between 150 and 200 independent travellers and expats had registered with its "Locate" service, which allows them to get help more easily in emergencies.
Both Thomas Cook and Thomson have cancelled outbound flights on Sunday, and Thomas Cook has also scrapped those due to leave on Wednesday 19 January.
Claire Banham, spokeswoman for industry travel body Abta, said those whose trips had already been cancelled had three options.
"One of them will be to rebook at a later stage. One would be to look at an alternative holiday. And third, if neither of the first two would be suitable and this applies to package holidays, would be a full refund from the tour operator."
