A HAMPSHIRE couple are trapped in a South American city where violence has erupted on the streets.

Cars were ablaze, at least two people have been killed, and food supplies are running out as protesters run riot in large parts of southern Chile.

Erika Schwamborn, 29, and her fiance James Collins have not been able to leave their hostel for four days and are stranded with at least 300 other tourists due to road blocks and a tense stand-off with police.

Now they fear how long it will be before they are free as protesters have vowed to paralyse the south indefinitely.

“We’ve not been able to leave since Tuesday due to the ongoing protests and there are blockades along the route leading out of the city,” said Erika, who is on a round-the-world trip with her partner.

The Lyndhurst nurse, added: “We’ve been told we are being used as a bargaining tool between the government and the protesters.”

The frightening ordeal began on Sunday when the couple arrived in the region of one of the world’s most southernmost continents.

Civil unrest has swept across the area due to a hike in prices of natural gas used for fuel, to heat homes and provide energy for businesses but the Government announced last week they will cut the subsidies.

The New Forest couple revealed that shops are closed and public transport has ground to a halt, making it impossible to get food. Ferries are suspended from Punta Arenas, where two women were killed and a two-year-old girl seriously injured when a truck ran into a barricade made from vehicles.

Tourists arriving at Punta Arenas airport, at the peak of the Southern Hemisphere summer, are having to walk into the city.

Rioters have stopped people crossing the border to Argentina.

The Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) last night urged travellers to keep away from the area.

An FCO spokesperson said: “We are aware of British nationals stranded at the border with Chile and Argentina, due to the general strike. We ask people to refer to our travel advice, monitor the situation and avoid confrontations. We have offered consular assistance to those who have been affected.”

Speaking from their Lyndhurst home, Erika’s dad Peter, 66, a retired Merchant Navy worker, and his wife Susan, a hotel supervisor at Lyndhurst Park Hotel, said they were terrified for their daughter and her partner’s safety.

Peter, said: “They just won’t let them leave. We are both worried sick this won’t end. They haven’t used any violence yet but anything could happen.”

The pensioner added: “I know what a dangerous place South America can be because I used to travel with my job.”

Erika and car salesman James left the UK in November 2009 for their trip around the globe and are due back in March.

Why are they protesting?

GAS prices in Chile have risen by 17 percent but the Government announced last week they will cut subsidies.

Organised by Asamblea Ciudadana Magallanes, the protests are the latest wave of anger in Latin America as governments attempt to reconcile budgets with energy prices, which have climbed to levels not seen since the record highs of 2008.

It is the first major political crisis to face Chilean president Sebastian Pinera since taking office one year ago.

He made a campaign promise that gas prices wouldn’t rise, but the state-owned petroleum company has had trouble maintaining supplies. Chile imports 93 percent of its gas.

Government spokeswoman Ena Von Baer said the administration is open to adjusting its plan but not under strikes and violence.