Greece top for British injuries
The British government yesterday warned its citizens to be more cautious when traveling abroad after figures showed that nearly 1,000 Britons were hospitalized in Greece last year and 48 British women reportedly raped. A Foreign Office report indicated that 955 Britons were hospitalized in Greece, compared to 601 in Spain, even though Spain attracts more British holidaymakers than any other destination in the world. Greece is the sixth most popular destination. The figures for reported rapes of British women in Greece last year were also higher than those in Spain, 48 as compared to 40. Parliamentary Undersecretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Meg Munn said that Britons, who have a reputation for being drunk and disorderly on Greek islands, should try harder to avoid getting into trouble. «Although some of the incidents people face are unavoidable, many can be prevented,» she said. The Foreign Office issued a statement warning women: «Don’t drink so much that you are not in control of what you are doing – and never leave your drink unattended.» Earlier this week a 21-year-old Briton received a jail term for biting a policeman on Rhodes. The tourist was released pending an appeal. In a related development yesterday, police in northern Greece recovered the body of a British tourist from the wreckage of a car in Halkidiki. The unidentified man had apparently lost control of his vehicle and crashed, according to police, who said that a passenger in the car, also a Briton, had been seriously injured. It was unclear whether the driver had been drinking. Yesterday’s death occurred in the same area as a hit-and-run incident in mid-July that caused the death of 22-year-old British soldier Brett Walmsley.
