British overseas legations handled 470,000 calls for help from Britons abroad: figures

Spain tops the list of countries where British citizens abroad needed the most urgent help from consular officers, according to figures revealed Thursday.

A total of 3,137 urgent assistance calls were made in the European country, one of the most popular with British holidaymakers.

The United States, with 1,482, came next followed by Thailand with 1,130. China, with 376 calls for assistance, came close to the bottom of the list.

The report, published by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, also showed during the past year 4,770 Britons were arrested abroad, including 691 for drug offences. Spain, followed by the United States, topped the list for most arrests.

Over 3,200 British people were hospitalized on their foreign journeys, with Spain, Greece and Thailand topping the list.

An even bigger number of Britons, 3,670 died abroad, with Spain and Thailand topping the list for most bereavements.

The FCO report showed more than 17,000 British nationals needed serious assistance abroad in 2014-2015.

The figures are revealed in a new Helping British Nationals Abroad report published Thursday which also also shows the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) issued almost 38,000 emergency travel documents to help people return to Britain.

A spokesman for the FCO said the global network of British embassies, high commissions and consulates handled over 470,000 enquiries.

"This comes at a time when British nationals are travelling abroad more often. In 2014 British nationals made over 60 million trips overseas, and more than 5 million are estimated to live abroad," the spokesman said. Endit