London, Thailand and India are the deadliest destinations for British visitors, said a government report published Tuesday.

The two countries are among the most popular destinations for teenagers who take a year out to travel after leaving school.

But Thailand accounted for 0.3 deaths for every thousand British visitors and India 0.2 deaths, say foreign office figures for 2006-07.

The publication of the report follows the rape and murder of 15-year-old British holidaymaker Scarlett Keeling in Goa in February.

However, the figures also reveal that more and more Britons are being arrested abroad for drunken behaviour.

As many as 2,032 Britons were arrested in Spain between April 2006 and March 2007, a rise of a third over the 1,549 arrested in 2005-06 and the highest number of any country visited by Britons.

The foreign office said that many of the arrests were due to "behaviour caused by excessive drinking".

The data shows Britons are most likely to be arrested in Cyprus, the US and the UAE.

Two Britons are currently facing jail terms in Dubai after they were allegedly caught having sex on a beach.

The Foreign Office statistics also revealed 1,591 Britons died in Spain, home to more than 760,000 British expatriates, followed by 385 deaths in France and 294 in Greece.

Nearly 700 British visitors to Spain needed to go to hospital in 2006-07 and 600 visitors sought hospital treatment in Greece.

Foreign Office minister Meg Munn said: "This report highlights what can go wrong on holiday.

"It is a reminder to all that taking out comprehensive travel insurance is a crucial part of your holiday planning and not something that should be sacrificed in order to save a few pounds.”

She said many of the problems are preventable.

"By carrying out some simple research on the laws, customs and health requirements of a country in advance, many people could prevent their holidays being ruined," Munn said.

EMAIL THIS NEWS COMMENTS No comments yet