The Last Plane out; Final Flight Carries Last Brits in Libya to Safety as Gaddafi Arms Militia for Civil War

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Byline: BEN SPENCER

THE final rescue flight for Brits fleeing Libya left Tripoli last night as the country hurtled closer to civil war.

The plane took 53 British nationals out of the stricken city at 6pm. It was part of a massive evacuation from the country by land, sea and air.

They scrambled to get out as embattled Colonel Gaddafi threw open his arsenal of weapons to civilian militia.

The operations of the British Embassy in Tripoli were suspended and its staff evacuated on the last Governmentchartered flight from the capital. Meanwhile, two RAF Hercules planes evacuated more than 150 civilians from desert locations south of Benghazi to Malta.

Earlier in the day, hundreds had escaped Libya by boat including almost 70 Brits on board HMS Cumberland.

Their desperate bid …