SWINDON-based building society Nationwide has temporarily extended travel insurance to holidaymakers to Tunisia.

In line with Government directions advising against all but essential travel to Tunisia after the terror attack a fortnight ago in which 38 people died, Nationwide is advising customers against travelling there.

But in the meantime Nationwide has temporarily extended the standard travel insurance cover to include cancellation, which would usually require an upgrade.

A spokesman from the building society said: “We are committed to supporting the work being done by tour operators to repatriate travellers and reimburse them for cancelled trips.

"This is why we have taken the decision to temporarily extend the standard travel insurance cover attached to our FlexAccount current account to include cancellation.

"This would normally require an upgrade to the account. For FlexPlus packaged account customers, this is covered as standard.

“The change means we are committed to considering all cases where FlexAccount customers are unable to apply for a refund or alternative holiday from their provider.

“Nationwide current account customers with a FlexAccount, which provides free UK and European Travel Insurance, and FlexPlus packaged account, providing worldwide family travel insurance, are automatically covered for curtailment of their trip, this means anyone unable to be repatriated by their travel provider will have their claim considered in the usual way.”

Until Wednesday the Foreign Office had warned tourists of the "high threat from terrorism" in Tunisia, but stopped short of advising people not to go there.

Hours after the attack in Sousse last month in which Wiltshire couple John Welch and Eileen Swannack died, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, in the face of criticism that advice should have been changed after the Bardo Museum attack in Tunis three months earlier, insisted the advice was "appropriate".

But the Foreign Office has now said that in the two weeks since the Sousse attack the "intelligence and threat picture has developed considerably", and they believe another terror attack is "highly likely".

Ireland has followed the UK's example by advising its citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to Tunisia - its second highest threat level.

Nabil Ammar, Tunisian ambassador to the UK, told the BBC: "This is what the terrorists want.

"By damaging the tourism, by having foreigners leaving the country, they damage the whole sector and put so many people out of work and on the streets. Hotels have to close and this is an important industry.

"One of the sources of terrorism is lack of hope. It is not the only motor of it but it is one of the very important origins."