A COUPLE stranded in Spain say they have worked out a tentative plan to return home.

Denis and Shelley Chirgwin, from Malvern, have been stranded in the Costa del Sol amid the coronavirus outbreak and are trying to work out how they can return home.

Mr Chirgwin said: “We are at the moment in between a rather large rock and a very hard place as our travel insurance runs out at the end of the month and for obvious reasons they won’t allow any extension nor can I get health or travel insurance in Spain and overall that no one will insure against Covid-19.

“We must therefore make plans to get home using the ferry, the plan is on April 24 we take our dog Bunty to the vets for her Pet Passport final vet check to allow re-entry to the UK, we pack over the weekend and leave Nerja, Andalucia at 6am on Monday, April 27 for a straight 10+ hour drive to Bilbao where I have arranged a hotel for the night.

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“Spain has closed nearly all hotels but has licensed a very small number to remain open to facilitate entry and exit at some of the borders. We then have a 15 minute drive to the port on April 28. It is a small and intricate exit plan that, if all goes well, will allow us to return home.

“It does get more complicated on arrival we must isolate for a 14 day period and as we’ve been gone five and a half months we didn’t leave any food or provisions at home, our cupboards are completely bare. I have not yet been able to arrange any groceries for delivery.”

The foreign secretary Dominic Raab announced last month that £75 million had been put aside to help fly stranded Brits home. The Chirgwins’ situation is complicated by the fact they drove to Spain, so can't fly back.

Under Mr Raab’s plans, Virgin, easyJet, Jet2 and Titan Airways signed a memorandum of understanding negotiated by Mr Raab and transport secretary Grant Shapps. Mr Raab said airlines would be responsible for getting passengers home where commercial routes remain an option.