STRANDED members of Southampton and Winchester churches say they are effectively under house arrest at a hotel in India after being caught up in the chaos surrounding the closure of UK airspace.

The 15-strong group from Life Church Southampton and Winchester Family Church are marooned in Delhi and also now in dispute with their airline.

The Christian group claim they are being forced to go to the airport, where they have surrendered their passports to airline officials and have even been threatened with arrest for breaking their temporary visa rules.

But they say they are resisting pressure to go to the airport where thousands are stuck in chaotic conditions.

Running short of money, they were fed yesterday through the generosity of other guests sneaking food to them.

Church leader Chris Kilby told the Daily Echo last night: “One chap smuggled out half a dozen naan breads in his jumper. What a gentleman. He knew we were in need.”

Mr Kilby, from the Life Church, said: “The airline said on Saturday if we don’t go, the immigration authorities will arrest us, which is just crazy. We are not allowed to leave the hotel, so we are basically under house arrest. But we have gone out because we were going stir crazy. I hope we are not stopped and asked for passports as we don’t have any.

“The airline tried to get us to go to the airport again this morning, banging on doors. They are keen to dump us there, in facilities with no water and blocked toilets. But I’m not prepared to put at risk young people and some poorly people with digestion problems.”

The group is now being allowed to stay, at their own expense, at the fourstar Ramada Hotel but can’t afford to eat there. Other British guests, being put up by British Airways, have been smuggling food for them.

Mr Kilby said: “There is a real Dunkirk Spirit. We organised a quiz night for the 80 people on our flight and held a service in one of the rooms which helped to raise morale a bit.”

The group had been due to take a flight from Delhi to London last Thursday after missionary work in Nepal.

The six from Southampton are: Mr Kilby and his 17-yearold son Joseph, a lower-sixth student at Tauntons College, Pete White, Nick Kellman and Peter and Mary Silly.

The Winchester party is Dave Lockyer, Neil Keyworth, his wife Sarah and 14-yearold daughter Elisha, Rob Goulding, Dan Tiley, Laurena Brown, Jess Mills and Cara Gannon.

Their churches have been offering support.

Simon Fry, from Life Church, said: “We are trusting God, that he has a plan, and that this all has a purpose even if we can’t fathom it.”

Prayers were also said at the Family Church in Winchester. Leader Mark Hall said: “We are trying to support them as best we can. It is just a day at a time. It is difficult to make firm plans.”

A Foreign Office spokesman said last night: “Our staff in India have been deployed at airports in Mumbai and Delhi, and have worked with the Indian authorities on extending permits for stranded British nationals. The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs have said that they will extend Airside Transit Passes of British travellers stranded in India due to cancelled flights.”