Holiday drink and drug arrests hit Britons abroad

PALMA AND LONDON
NEARLY 1'000 British holidaymakers were arrested for drugs offenses abroad last year, with many more held by police or hospitalised for excessive drinking, the Foreign Office said yesterday and the British Consul in Majorca, Paul Abrey, said that British holiday makers could perhaps be better prepared before they travel and be more respectful of local customs and behaviour.

Relating to the period April 2008 to March 2009, the Foreign Office figures showed that more Britons were arrested or taken to hospital in Spain than any other country.

Britain's favourite destination arrested 2'290 Britons, compared to just 193 in France, and a total of 741 were taken to hospital.
A third of the 991 drug arrests took place here in Spain and the United States, while hospital cases were often the result of moped accidents and drink-related accidents like falls from balconies.