Debbie McGrath of VSO believes many aid workers will return

Joined by similar flights from other nations, the aircraft is working against the clock to evacuate the Britons after Ethiopia suspended attacks on the Eritrean capital, Asmara, to allow hundreds of Westerners to flee.

The flight set off from RAF Lynam on Saturday morning and is after landing in Crete made its way on to Asmara.

Around 60 Britons are among the hundreds of foreign nationals trapped in Eritrea by the escalating violence between the two countries.

Many more aid workers are still stranded

Many of the people waiting evacuation are aid workers.

Ethiopia agreed not to shoot at evacuation planes landing at Asmara after the former colonial power in the region, Italy, brokered a ceasefire until 0500 BST (0400 GMT) on Sunday.

Other flights are coming from Germany, the USA and Italy.

Continued bombings

VSO's Andrew Waites at Heathrow on the anxious airlift

The ceasefire announcement came after Ethiopia's air force launched a second day of bombing raids on the Asmara military airport, next to the civil airport.

Forty-eight British aid workers arrived in London from Eritrea on Saturday.

The aid workers from the charity Voluntary Services Overseas were evacuated with Americans from the capital Asmara on Friday.

Many of the volunteers, who arrived at Heathrow, described bombing raids and their fear for the safety of friends they had left behind.

VSO worker Debbie McGrath said: "In some ways life was perfectly normal, which has been the ironic thing about it.

Other countries are sending flights to Asmara

"People were still watering their flowers and children were still going to school. But by Thursday when things escalated we decided we would have to leave."

The VSO workers boarded an American chartered plane sent to take US nationals out of the capital last night and flew to Frankfurt.

Ms McGrath said: "The Eritreans are used to it. They have had 30 years of fighting. People stood out and watched for the MiGs as they went over and clapped when one was shot down.

"All our volunteers were in the city when the planes were targeting the airport. We could see the MiGs coming over and bombs coming out of them."

Reports have suggested that dozens of people had been killed and hundreds injured in air raids carried out by both countries.

Jenny Tinker, 26, from Reading, had been working as a teacher in the African state for two years.

She said: "We had seen tanks driving through the streets and we saw the MiGs bombing the airport, which was frightening.

"But there was a great spirit of camaraderie among the volunteers. People volunteered to get food and other things to help."

Jane Tremayne, 31, from Surrey, said: "We saw bombs dropping at the airport, which was really frightening.