Brits 'get in trouble on holiday'

If UK holidaymakers were better prepared for their trips and acted sensibly while abroad, the numbers of accidents and arrests involving Brits abroad would fall, a report has argued.

A new Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) report has detailed the number of UK citizens that get into trouble every year while on holiday.

For example, it showed that 1,368 Britons were arrested in the US between April 2005 and March 2006. During this period nearly 1,000 UK holidaymakers were hospitalised in Greece and over 6,000 Brits lost their passport in Spain.

In addition, the findings highlighted the fact that Czech Republic features as a country where people from the UK tend to find themselves in trouble. The FCO said that it deals with "a disproportionate number of lost passports, arrests and hospitalisations" in the country.

It suggested that this could be because of the large number of stag and hen parties which travel to the country.

"As this report shows, although some of the incidents people face are unavoidable, many can be prevented with a little planning and careful preparation," commented FCO minister, Meg Munn.

"Simple precautions like researching your destination, getting comprehensive travel insurance, checking out medical requirements and taking copies of important documents could help avoid common travelling traumas, risks and dangers in the long-run."

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