12:04am UK, Sunday July 23, 2006

The last boat carrying Britons away from the violence in Lebanon set sail on Saturday afternoon.

Those wanting to leave the region had until 2pm BST to register for the journey - but thousands failed to meet the deadline.

180 Last ferry leaves Lebanon with Brits on board

The last ferry for Brits leaves

HMS York had been due to pick people up from Beirut as well as a Greek ferry chartered by the Government.

Sky News Reporter Paul Harrison flew from Cyprus to Beirut to watch Britons sign up to be evacuated - but numbers were low.

"Only around 150 have registered to get out so HMS York was cancelled," Harrison said.

"It suggests that many thousands more wish to stay - but there are many who can't get to the port."

About 4,400 Britons have been evacuated out of a possible 22,000.

Other nations have also been evacuating their nationals.

Ships and aircraft worked through the night taking people to safety in Cyprus in a mass evacuation now exceeding 25,000 people.

Cypriot Foreign Minister Georgios Lillikas, said: "We expect the number to triple in the coming days. There are more than 60,000 to 70,000 to be evacuated through Cyprus."