The UK government has chartered flights to help British nationals leave Jamaica in the wake of Hurricane Melissa.

As many as 8,000 Britons are understood to be on the Caribbean Island. The Foreign Office has urged them to register their presence to receive updates on the disaster response.

It did not specify how many planes had been chartered, but said Brits and their immediate family would be able to take them as long as they held valid travel documents.

The rare category five storm - the strongest type - made landfall on Jamaica on Tuesday, leaving a trail of destruction, flooding and dozens of people dead, before continuing to move through the Caribbean.

At least five people are known to have died in Jamaica, with at least another 20 fatalities confirmed dead in Haiti.