MORE than 40,000 British tourists and ex-pats were last night warned to avoid the centre of strife-torn Bangkok as the death toll from anti-government protests reached 48.

The last three days alone have seen 22 people killed and 170 injured.

And as soldiers in the Thai capital set up a "live firing zone" in a bid to crush the Red Shirt rebellion, the Foreign Office warned Brits in the popular tourist area to expect "shooting and intense violence".

It also advised them not to enter department stores in the city after grenades were reported to have hit a shopping centre.

The British Embassy, close to the heart of the protests, remained closed and Brits were told to monitor the Foreign Office website for advice.

The warnings came as troops unrolled razor wire across roads leading to the central Ratchaprarop area and pinned up notices in Thai and English warning that they are ready to shoot demonstrators.

The red-shirted protesters, many of them women and children, were pinned behind sharpened bamboo poles inside a camp inside the live firing zone.

After being shot at with live bullets and tear-gas, they fired back at soldiers with AK-47 machine-guns and M79 grenade launchers.

The protesters, who are said to be bankrolled by the former Prime Minister and ex Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra, are thought to have only a few days' supplies left.

Violence escalated on Thursday after a renegade army chief who supports the protests was shot in the head by a gunman. General Khattiya Sawasdipol, better known as Commander Red, is in a critical condition and doctors believe he is unlikely to survive.

Afterwards soldiers fired live rounds at hundreds of protesters who fought back with petrol bombs, rocks and crude homemade rockets.



Mobs were seen lighting fires with rubber tyres in the streets and soldiers were dragged from their trucks and beaten.

They also hurled "bombs" made out of plastic bags filled with oil and hot chilli powder, which cause extreme pain in contact with flesh.

As gun battles intensified, a motorcyclist fell to a stray bullet, a journalist from the Bangkok Nation newspaper was shot and a rescue worker was blasted in the head as he tried to get a casualty into an ambulance. The Thai government claim the situation is under control and its soldiers have only fired in self-defence. But army snipers have been accused of targeting protesters, while the demonstrators have been seen dragging gunshot victims to safety.

Army spokesman Sansen Kaewkamnerd said: "We are sorry for any losses, but we are sticking to the rules of engagement laid out.

"We have had to ask everybody to leave the live fire zones because there are gunmen hiding among the civilians."

He added: "In the red camp three of the five leaders have already packed it in."

Authorities have ruled out talks with the Red Shirt protesters, who want Premier Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections.

Inside the camp, Red Shirt leader Kwanchai Praipana vowed: "We'll keep on fighting until the government takes responsibility." Mr Shinawatra has called on the government to withdraw troops.

But in a televised address PM Mr Vejjajiva said: "We cannot retreat. What we are doing is for the benefit of the country.

"We cannot leave the country in the hands of armed groups."

AN "outstanding" British student has died in a coach crash while on holiday in Thailand.

Felix Robinson, from Brighton, died in the smash in Ranong province just days after his 19th birthday. He was due to start a degree at Bristol University in September.