Britons Arrested Abroad Soaring

Bad behaviour by Britons abroad has led to a big increase in the number of arrests in Spain and France, according to new figures.

between April 2006 and March 2007, a rise of 32% on 2005/06. The number of arrests in France. over the same period rose by 42% to 153. But based on the number of Britons travelling to a particular country, the likeliest destination to be arrested was Cyprus followed by the USA and UAE.

he Foreign Office said that many of the arrests abroad were due to "behaviour caused by excessive drinking".

A number of UAE arrests were due to the area's zero-tolerance policy on drugs which affected Britons transiting the UAE on the way elsewhere.

The country in which British travellers are most likely to end up in hospital is Thailand, with many hospital stays being the result of motorbike accidents.

In a separate survey, two thirds of British holidaymakers said they would be spending less on their foreign holiday preparations this year due to the credit crunch, leading to concerns that people will opt out of comprehensive travel insurance.

"This report highlights what can go wrong on holiday," said Foreign Office minister Meg Munn.

"It is a reminder to all that taking out comprehensive travel insurance is a crucial part of your holiday planning and not something that should be sacrificed in order to save a few pounds.

"Helping British nationals in distress overseas is one of our most important tasks but many of the problems faced by holidaymakers are preventable.

"By carrying out some simple research on the laws, customs and health requirements of a country in advance, many people could prevent their holidays being ruined."