A CORBRIDGE councillor is trying to find a way to get his son back home after he became stranded in Cambodia due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Edward Oliver (28) had been working in Siem Reap for around two years with his girlfriend, but after flights were cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak, they were unable to get a direct flight home.

The Foreign Office changed its travel advice on Sunday, urging British nationals to return home as soon as possible.

Coun. Nick Oliver, Edward’s father, said that the land border with Thailand had also been closed, leaving them with no way to get out of Cambodia with a direct route home.

He said: “The issue is that there is no guaranteed way to get back. There are ways you can do it, for example a flight to get back might take 50 hours on three different planes.

“It might be from Cambodia to China, then on to Russia and from Russia to here, but because flights are being cancelled all the time there is potential you can become stranded. It is the risk of not being able to make the whole journey and ending up stranded in an airport.”

He said Hexham’s MP Guy Opperman’s office had been extremely helpful and were talking to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to try to find a solution.

Coun. Oliver added: “We would just like him home, but it is reassuring to know he does know the country well and he has been there for some time, rather than being a traveller who doesn’t have anywhere to stay. The advice is to get out but that’s easy to say and not easy to do.”