Alcohol increasingly involved with arrests of Brits abroad

Increasing numbers of Britons visiting France and Spain and France are getting into trouble with the law, along with time spent at the beach, according to the newest figures released by the Foreign Office.

The FCO data show that more than 2,000 Brits were arrested by Spanish police last year, which is an increase of 32 per cent over the previous year, and more incidents than in any other country. The increase in France was 42 per cent, although the actual number of arrests was considerably lower, at 152.

Other countries that saw increases in the number of arrests of UK travellers by local authorities included Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the US.

Inebriation seems to have been a major factor in many of the arrests, with authorities attributing the detention of UK nationals to “behaviour caused by excessive drinking.” The number of arrests in the UAE, however, can be explained by the zero-tolerance for drug use and its strict public decency laws.

The statistics cover the 12 month period from April 2006 to March 2007, and also report cases of Britons raped while travelling abroad. There were 29 reports of rape in Spain, 18 in Greece and 21 cases recorded in Turkey.

Approximately 700 Britons required hospital treatment while they were in Spain during that time, and more than 1,500 died there. There were 385 British deaths in France, and 294 in Germany.

www.fco.gov.uk