• 1,000 British skiers trapped in Alps after severe snowfalls
  • Falling trees and rocks blocking many routes
  • Avalanche warning raised to stage three, or 'considerable risk'
  • Holidaymakers advised to stay indoors
British holidaymakers are in a race against time to get out of Austrian ski resorts before more snowfalls arrive at the weekend.

Many have become stranded since the weekend because of the heaviest snowfalls in Alps in the past 30 years.

Some holiday makers are four days overdue to be back home and back at work due to the weather. As much as 18ft has fallen over the past few days.
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© Getty ImagesClearing up: A resident in Ischgl, Austria, contemplates the enormous task of clearing the snow from his roof

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© Getty ImagesSnowed in: Thick layers cover a roadside chapel near Ischgl (left) and block the first floor windows of a house in Galtuer (right) both in Austria
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© Getty ImagesSnow trekkers: A mother with her two children pass the covered bus station of Mathon Ost in Ischgl, Austria
Although it did not snow yesterday, the latest forecasts predict further snow at the weekend.

Avalanches cut off numerous towns including the resorts of Ischgl and Galtur where an estimated 2,000 Britons are holidaying.

The frustration of being trapped by the snow is also matched by holidaymakers who are trying to get in.

Last night a single road - the B188 - was open to Innsbruck and a constant stream of cars turned it into a 30 mile traffic jam as they attempted to reach the outside world.

Rescuers warn that the roads could be closed again at any time, as avalanches are sporadic, trees are falling onto roads and the conditions on the roads means accidents are likely.
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© Getty ImagesPitch white: A hut is blanketed in snow, with the background of the Alpine mountains near Tarrrenz, Austria
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© Getty ImagesWhite out: Tarrrenz, in Austria, is a complete blur due to the heavy snow
The frustration among tourists has been mounting. Derek Lindsay, 66, a retired surveyor from Worcester, flew into Austria on Saturday and only reached the resort he wanted to get to with his partner Carol on Tuesday.

Mr Lindsay, who is due to undergo radiotherapy when he gets back from his Alpine holiday for prostate cancer said: 'I am furious that we were shipped into the town of Galtur when it had an avalanche warning of four - and five is the highest.

'We sat in a hotel room unable to unpack, unable to ski and quite frankly getting very frustrated at a time when I was supposed to be having a stress free holiday.'

The reverse was true for plumber Peter Baker, 54, from Macclesfield, who was on holiday with his wife Karen and their children aged seven and 12.

He said: 'I've been stuck in Ischgl since Saturday and I was supposed to be back at work on Tuesday.

'The place was completely snowed in. They had police on the roads so you couldn't try to get out.

'The pistes were shut down because of the weather and all in all it felt like a bit of a siege. Spirits were high - I didn't have to pay any extra for my hotel.'
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© Associated PressDeluge: A man shovels snow from a roof in Hochfilzen in the western Austrian province of Tyrol
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© EPAHelping hand: An injured skier is rescued from the Axam, Tyrol region of Austria, following the heavy snowfall
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© Associated PressHeavy snowfall in the past days caused major traffic problems and a high danger of avalanches
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© EPA/Agence France Presse/Getty ImagesWhite out: Mountain rescue search for a missing teenager in the Austrian Tyrol area of Axamer Lizum (left) as a pedestrian walks past snow piled up on a street of Mittenwald, southern Germany
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© Associated PressSnowed in: Ploughs try to clear the streets in Fiss, eastern Austria
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© Associated PressTraffic chaos: Cars getting out of a tunnel on a snowy street near Fiss
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© EPA/Robert PariggerSoldiers of the Austrian armed force, pictured search for a missing 15-year-old on Sunday in the ski area of Axamer Lizum. A number of inexperienced skiers including children have had to be airlifted from the snow
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© EPADigging out: A man struggles to clear snow in Axam, Tyrol region of Austria
Stephen Veares, 46, a graphic designer from Camden Town in London, said: 'I should have been back at work on Wednesday but the boss was okay because he's seen the TV reports about what's happening here.

'The skiing, when it stops snowing, has been fantastic but for much of the time we were trapped in our hotels and cars. We simply couldn't go outside due to the storms.'

One St Anton hotel owner, Annabel Gonifas, told the Evening Standard newspaper the result of the freak conditions was 'chaos'.
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© EPABetter have the de-icer handy: A car in Haggen, Tyrol region of Austria, is almost completely covered in snow following the extreme fall
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© Associated PressBlanketed: The Swiss village of Andermatt succumbed to heavy snowfall earlier on in the week
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© Agence France Presse/Getty ImagesForbidden: A street sign in Mittenwald, southern Germany, can only just been seen amongst the mountains of snow
Last night one enterprising Austrian company was charging British and Russian tourists trapped in Ischgl close to £4,500 to fly individuals and family units out of the city to Innsbruck airport - a journey of just 15 minutes.

Several wealthy tourists from both the UK and Russia took advantage of the offer but most people were left stuck in the traffic jams on the one free road trying to get out.

Klaus Schmidhofer form the Avalanche Warning Centre in Salzburg said: 'Even though the avalanche warning in some areas has been reduced. The danger is still extensive. People should proceed with extreme caution.'

Weather forecasters predict between a foot and 18 inches of fresh snow in the Tyrol over the next five days. But they do not expect a return of the high winds which caused avalanches in recent days.
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© Associated PressCloudy: A snow blower, followed by pedestrians, helps to clear the streets of St. Martin near Lofer, in the Austrian province of Salzburg, following the snowfall
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© Agence France Presse/Getty ImagesStandstill: Regional trains stand on platforms of Mittenwald train station, in southern Germany, after the line between Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Innsbruck was closed
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© Getty ImagesHalt! A "STOP Danger of Avalanches" sign blocks a local road in Ischgl, Austria
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© Agence France Presse/Getty ImagesWhat a difference: The slopes of Val D'Isere, seen here last month, had been badly affected by the warmest and driest autumn in the Alps for 147 years