Arrests of British tourists up 6%, says Foreign Office

Spain saw the most arrests in the last year

More British tourists are getting into trouble overseas, according to Foreign Office figures.

There was a 6% rise in arrests worldwide last year, when 6,015 people were handled by British embassies.

Spain topped the list for detentions, with nearly 2,000 - up 9% on 2010 - ahead of the USA and Thailand.

The Foreign Office thinks the rise could be down to resorts popular with UK tourists developing a zero tolerance approach to drink and drugs.

"Punishments can be very severe, with tougher prison conditions than in the UK, and we cannot interfere in another country's legal system," said Foreign Office minister Jeremy Browne.

On the Balearic islands of Ibiza and Majorca there has been almost a 30% increase in arrests, with more than 500 people in total detained.

The head of the local UK Consulate, Paul Abrey, has described the rise as "dramatic".

"We see younger people coming to places like San Antonio and Magaluf who don't know the laws.

"There are also more drugs available on the street," said My Abrey.

Selling pills

Most arrests on the islands were for drunken behaviour, such as fighting or criminal damage, as well as drug-related crime.

Arrested Britons can often end up in one of Majorca's police cells

Twenty-one-year-old Sophie, from Surrey, (not her real name), was involved in a drugs raid last year.

She told Newsbeat: "Most of the jobs are promotion and you might get one euro commission a ticket.

"But people who sell pills make about 10 euros on each one.

"People come out here who've probably never dealt before in their life.

"But it's so easy to get involved if you're out here for a season."

Sophie was later released without charge but her boyfriend is still in jail on the island awaiting trial.

According to Fair Trials International, a person can sometimes spend up to four years in jail in Spain before trial.

The British Embassy on the Balearic islands also says more people are travelling there independently, instead of on a package holiday.

It believes this takes people out of controlled environments and means they have less local guidance.

Elsewhere, worldwide arrests for drugs are also up 2%, with the Foreign Office dealing with 816 cases last year.

More than half of people getting into trouble worldwide are under 34 years old.

Foreign Office minister Jeremy Browne believes many tourists wrongly think they will simply be transferred home.

"Having a British passport does not make you immune to foreign laws and will not get you special treatment in prison," he warns.