THOUSANDS of holidaymakers were stuck in hot countries due to the Icelandic volcano, but spare a thought for two university lecturers who were stranded at the North Pole.

Dr Bruce Moffett and Stephanie Henderson-Begg, of the University of East London, had flown to Ny-Ålesund, in Norway, to study airborne micro-organisms and the role these species play in weather formation.

The pair, who lecture in health and bioscience, arrived back in the UK on Friday, a week later than planned, after a journey across Norway, a boat to Copenhagen and trains through Holland before the boarded a ferry to the UK.