Piste off: British skiing chalet staff locked in pay dispute

Chalet Georgina, just outside the popular French Alpine resort of Les Menuires, affords its guests every luxury. There is a spa, jacuzzi and in-house masseur and some of the finest skiing money can buy.

Last night, however, a revolt by British chalet staff over claims they had been summarily dismissed has turned the £20,000-a-week lodge into the centre of an extraordinary and highly civilised occupation.

Styling themselves as "The Les Menuires Seven", the band of determined Britons are refusing to leave until they are paid £4,000 they claim to be owed in wages and expenses.

After being told on Monday that they were no longer required by operator Skithe3v, they stocked up on provisions and changed the number code to enter the chalet. They then set about publicising their plight on Facebook and in the French media, and have since been inundated with support.

Lucy Anne Hayes, 21, said: "We feel like the victims of someone who has been very unkind. They think they can get away with employing young people, making them work for a couple of weeks and then firing them," she said.

No one at Skithe3v was available for comment.