GREECE is teetering on the edge of the abyss and if it plunges in generations will suffer, warns Bournemouth lecturer and Greek politics expert Dr Roman Gerodimos.

Dr Gerodimos gave a frank interview to the Daily Echo as Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras prepared for his pitch to Eurozone leaders in Brussels last night.

As the Echo went to press the country was perilously close to leaving the common currency, after 61 per cent of voters rejected a new bailout deal demanding further austerity measures.

Dr Gerodimos, principal lecturer in global current affairs at Bournemouth University's Media School, said: "If a country like Greece collapses, which it is looking like it is about to, that is going to affect three generations.

"For the next 10 or 15 years there is going to be mayhem.

"This is not just an economic issue, it is about food, community, culture."

Dr Gerodimos, who is also founder of the Greek Politics Specialist Group organisation, says negotiations need to succeed.

"It sounds surreal but the proposal just rejected by the Greek people needs to be put back on on the table and used as a basis for negotiations," he explained.

Finance experts fear that unless a new bailout deal can be reached and the European Central Bank acts quickly, Greek banks will run out of cash at some point this week.

Presently, Greek banks remain closed and citizens are being limited to ATM withdrawals of just 60 Euros each day. British tourists are being advised to change all their holiday money into cash before travelling.

The only way for a further crisis to be avoided, says Dr Gerodimos, is to at least implement some temporary agreement within the next 24 hours.

Speaking yesterday, he said: "Tonight is crucial. If negotiations fail, that's it.

"Already people are talking about humanitarian aid, sending shipments of medication and food. This is the worse case scenario.

"If at least the door is still open that is good news, because the predictions now are that it will all be over by tonight."

Dr Gerodimos, who is from Athens, regularly keeps in contact with friends and family back home.

"This is not an abstract thing," he stressed. "There are people at home queuing everyday, goods running out in supermarkets.

"One of the pleasant surprises of this referendum was that, while the rhetoric was very heated at times, there were no riots, fighting, it was all very civilised. I hope this remains the case.

"The problem is when you don't have food to eat you can only be so philosophical."