A father is issuing a call for help after his son and his girlfriend became trapped in Cambodia due to a Coronavirus lockdown.

Tony Duxbury, from Oswaldtwistle says son Joel, 26, and girlfriend Lilly Whelan, 24 from Accrington, are currently at Phnom Penh International Airport with no available flights out of the country.

The couple had gone to the British embassy but were turned away by security with only a leaflet.

Mr Duxbury said: “The situation is changing very rapidly at this moment in time.

“They’re getting no help from the British Consulate because they’ve closed their doors and told them they’re on their own.”

Joel and Lily, who is a nurse at Blackburn hospital, had originally planned to tour south-east Asia before meeting up with friends in Vietnam.

However, the virus outbreak ruined these plans as Cambodia went into lockdown in an effort to contain the virus which, as of Tuesday at least 87 people in the country are believed to have contracted.

In their desperation Mr Duxbury says that Joel and Lilly are planning to turn to another trapped traveller who says he can arrange flights out of the country, but it is not clear whether these are connected to Malaysia airlines or another private source.

If the flights are reliable then the couple may be back in the UK by the early hours of tomorrow morning, but Mr Duxbury is sceptical.

He said: “They were approached by an individual who says he can get flights out of the country, but we’re not sure what line this is connected to, so you can see why I’m a bit dubious about this.”