Java volcano 'may erupt at any time'

People living near an Indonesian volcano have been warned it could erupt.

Clouds of noxious gasses are spewing from Mount Merapi, on the island of Java, while ash-filled rain is falling on villages and farms.

A volcanologist has warned that, even though activity has reduced in the past 12 hours, there could be a major eruption at any time.

In the past three weeks, lava has been flowing as far as 2.5 miles from the Merapi's crater rim.

Hundreds of thousands of people live in the shadow of the 9,794ft volcano, about 235 miles east of Jakarta.

In 1994, 66 people were burned to death by a searing ash cloud that engulfed a farming village. In 1930, about 1,300 people were killed when Merapi blew its top.