Local MP Abena Oppong-Asare has said she is working with dozens of Erith and Thamesmead residents currently stranded in India, Sierra Leone and Nigeria to try and get them home.

The MP said in a video that her team is urgently trying to get through dozens of cases regarding residents stranded overseas.

In the video, she says: “We have been successful in getting a number of people back to the UK, but I still have a number of residents that are stranded. I just want to say that I understand your frustrations, and I ask that you are patient.”

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Hundreds of UK travellers are reportedly still stranded overseas and many have expressed anger at the amount of time and money it is taking to get them home.

One woman said she was spending "every waking moment" trying to return home, but demand for rescue flights appears to be outstripping supply.

A £75m operation to charter flights from affected destinations was launched by the Government last week, and two rescue flights chartered by the Government will repatriate British nationals from the Philippines on Tuesday.

Further flights will operate this week from India, South Africa and Nepal.

Shekhar Sharma, a 42-year-old banker from London, has lived in the UK for the last 16 years but is stranded in India after visiting his parents.

He has registered for a rescue flight from Delhi to London and paid the £581 fee, but has been told that only gets him a spot on a waiting list.

He said: "The UK seems to be the last country to be trying to bring people back home.

"There are 20,000 people who have registered to try and get back from India, so it does not seem like the effort they are putting in is nearly enough to get people home.

"I have now been waiting in Delhi for 15 days to try and get home.

"I am lucky because I am in a position to pay, but when a normal return flight is between £500 and £600, to charge £581 for one way seems a lot.

"The UK Government promised it was spending £75 million to get people home, but where has that money gone? These fares do not seem subsidised at all."

Mr Sharma is particularly eager to return to London as he only has enough medication left to last him for three days and he is due to start a new job soon.

Last week, Ms Oppong-Asare wrote to the Foreign Secretary asking them to arrange rescue flights for residents stuck in India immediately.

The Erith and Thamesmead MP welcomed the £75m scheme, but added that there were thousands still stranded and those in India and surrounding areas deserved to be prioritised due to the sheer number stuck there.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said more than 2,000 UK nationals have so far been repatriated on charter flights from seven different countries, including Peru, Ghana and Tunisia.

Last week, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps estimated that around 300,000 UK travellers were stranded.