Britons told to be on alert after Thai coup

LONDON, Sep 20 (Reuters) Tens of thousands of Britons in Thailand have been warned to stay away from demonstrations and large crowds after a bloodless coup ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the UK government said today.

The Foreign Office urged Britons on holiday in the capital Bangkok to avoid moving around the city after soldiers took to the streets yesterday. They should watch the local media and keep in close touch with their tour operators.

''The British Embassy in Bangkok is closely monitoring the situation,'' the Foreign Office said on its Web site (www.fco.gov.uk).

Around 20,000 Britons are officially registered as living in or visiting Thailand, and thousands more are there on holiday, a spokesman said.

About 750,000 British tourists visit Thailand each year, drawn by the capital's temples and Royal Palace and the holiday islands to the south.

The Association of British Travel Agents, which represents travel agents and tour operators, said an estimated 20,000 British tourists in the country were largely unaffected.

''Holidays are going ahead as normal,'' a spokesman said.

''Customers are being sensible and realistic rather than panicking.'' Europe's second-biggest travel operator Thomas Cook AG said it had contacted all its British customers in Thailand and none wanted to come home early.

''It's not really having a huge effect,'' a spokeswoman said.

''People are carrying on with their holidays as normal.'' The company has up to 1,000 customers in Thailand, many on the holiday islands.

Travel company Thomson Holidays, part of Europe's biggest travel firm TUI AG , said it had accounted for all 194 of its British tourists in Thailand.

''The people that were travelling out (to Thailand) today have decided to go,'' a spokeswoman said. ''Our customers are along the coastline, basically on beach holidays.'' British Airways Plc said its flights were unaffected.

Passengers could reschedule journeys if they decided to change their plans.

Several British companies have operations in Thailand, including Alliance Boots , Marks&Spencer and Tesco .

Thailand's Army chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin took power late yesterday as head of an interim ''Political Reform Council'' run by the military. The coup is Thailand's first in 15 years but its 18th since it became a constitutional monarchy in 1932.

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