People should keep their heads down and stay where they are William Waldegrave, Foreign Office minister

Since the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq and the outbreak of war dozens of the country's 4,000-strong British community have managed to escape to neighbouring countries.

However, Foreign Office advice to Britons in Kuwait is to stay put and William Waldegrave again urged Britons not to risk their lives.

"People should keep their heads down and stay where they are," he said.

Mr Croskery, 49, and his companions are believed to have been attempting to get to Saudi Arabia across a 200-mile (322km) stretch of desert connecting Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

But Iraqi forces have now set up several checkpoints along the route.

Mr Croskery is reported to have been shot three times by an Iraqi patrol just short of the Saudi border.

Others travelling with him are said to have been unhurt and to have got across the border.

Britain says the Iraqi invasion force are in clear breach of the Geneva Convention which obliges occupying forces to ensure the safety of the foreign nationals.

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