A WELL-ESTABLISHED local firm has been helping rescue stranded British tourists in mainland Europe, after the volcanic eruption in Iceland grounded all flights in and out of the UK.

Dans Luxury Travel, which is based in Maybank Road, South Woodford, has seen a surge in long-distance bookings to collect Brits stuck in Europe, as well as taking Europeans back home after seeing their flights from the UK cancelled.

Flights have been grounded across the UK and much of Europe since last Thursday (April 15) following the eruption of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull.

Dan Brown, 60, has run the firm for the last 35 years and said that the journeys had provided a great boost for his business in lean times.

He said: “It's been great because the coach business is a bit slow at the moment, so this has picked things up before the summer, which is when we usually start to get busy.

“We've done about six trips over the last week or so. We've been to Paris, Milan, all over Europe.”

Mr Brown added that having his son Nick, 25, and daughter Rachel, 27, as fully-qualified drivers had helped the firm cope with the high demand.

He added: “My son and daughter are working with me now, which has been really good because having more drivers really help take the pressure off. It's been all hands on deck.

“Some of the money people are getting charged to come back overland is terrible. I've heard about people paying 1000 euros for car hire or even 1,500 euros for a train ticket.

“Some people are renting cars and driving them to Calais, and leaving them before getting on the ferry.

“I wish my coaches had wings, because if they did I could fly people down there and call the business 'Dan Air'!”

Airports have now re-opened followed the six-day lock-down, as the Civil Aviation Authority allowed a small number of flights to use UK airspace after tests showed the plans had an "increased tolerance levels in low ash density areas".

However, some restrictions are still in place and services are not expected to return to normal for some days yet.

Have you faced a lengthy and expensive journey to get back to the UK from abroad? Are you still stranded overseas?

Contact Guardian reporter James Ranger at jranger@london.newsquest.co.uk or call 07795 563 114.