Britons held over holiday island sex

Greek police have launched a crackdown on British holidaymakers in the resort of Faliraki on Rhodes after a record number of arrests for "advanced sexual activity".

Four holidaymakers have been thrown off the island and sent back to Britain. Six have been jailed for indecency and another three are being held in custody for drug offences.

A senior police officer on the island said: "We have never had so many British cases at Faliraki within just one week. We are determined to clean up the resort. Sexual activity is out of control and it is the British to blame."

The drive was launched this week and already 13 British tourists have been arrested. Police patrols have been more than doubled in the town and on beaches.

The police spokesman said: "There have been a number of rapes in Faliraki and they often go unreported. We are deeply worried."

British consular officials and the local tourist board have put pressure on the police after two vicious rapes of British visitors.

Last week a 19-year-old from Stevenage became the latest victim, after she was raped in a hotel room under threat of violence. One day earlier a 20-year-old from Kilmarnock was raped by a taxi driver as she returned to her hotel.

Lawyer Efthymios Dimitriades, who specialises in handling cases for British holidaymakers on Rhodes, said that the local association of Faliraki businesses has set up a committee designed to curb the excesses of "holiday hooliganism" among British tourists there.

"We are convinced that if the owners of shops, hotels and entertainment centres make an effort to get their customers to behave better, then the task of the police will be easier and the vast majority of peace-loving tourists will enjoy a much better holiday."

Nine of those arrested were either found guilty and sentenced or were imprisoned pending trial.

Six of the 13 were found guilty of minor sex offences and were sentenced to four months jail - or a fine of £650.

Another three British tourists were jailed pending trial for drug offences.They will stay in prison for several months until the hearing takes place.

The resort was forced into the spotlight following the success of Club Reps, an ITV documentary detailing the sexual excesses of holidaymakers. The resort has gained an unsavoury reputation as the home of "British holiday hooliganism".

Holiday bookings rocketed 30 per cent as viewers clammered to take part in the hedonistic lifestyle made famous by the series.

The ITV fly-on-the-wall programme's diet of promiscuity, drunkenness and the worst of British yobbishness has enraged Middle England.

The series was blamed for encouraging a series of sexual attacks on the Greek island, a four-hour flight from the UK off the southern tip of Turkey.

Last year 11 women were raped on the island, including six from Britain.

In the past two months alone, there have been three rapes and two sex attacks at knifepoint.

A 28-year-old British mother, who lives on the island, was raped last month after being followed home to a nearby village from her job in a Faliraki bar. Police have so far failed to find the culprit.

Earlier this month the 20-yearold from Kilmarnock said she was initially seduced but then raped by a middle-aged taxi driver in Faliraki who offered her a free taxi ride in return for sexual favours. She testified that she was too drunk to resist.

Police say the 19-year-old victim from Stevenage was forcefully led to a hotel room in Faliraki and raped under the threat of violence.

A 26-year-old man from Epsom, Surrey, was arrested and is alleged to have confessed to the police and apologised to the girl.

But she went on to drop all charges when she learned that she would have to remain in Rhodes, part of the Dodecanese group, until the court case was heard.

Police chief Ilias Halivopoulos conceded that several other rape incidents may have occurred in Faliraki since the start of the year.

The attacks prompted the Foreign Office to upgrade its advice to travellers visiting the Greek islands.

It strongly urges lone visitors, particularly young women, never to accept lifts from strangers. Two years ago Wendy Sullivan, a 25-year-old care worker from Winsford, Cheshire, was murdered after she accepted a lift from two men in Faliraki and resisted their attempts to rape her. The perpetrators, from eastern Europe, were caught and charged but one escaped