Faliraki's yobs face tough new rules

Greek police are to crack down on "yob" holidaymakers who flock to Faliraki on the island of Rhodes.

The resort has become a draw for rowdy British clubbers, and now a special task force is being set up to deal with binge-drinking, fighting and public lewdness.

Today it was announced that a new police station will open in the resort on 1 May, staffed by 20 specially trained English-speaking officers. They have been flown to Blackpool to see at first hand how young Britons behave when out drinking.

The officers will have new powers to restrict numbers in bar-crawl groups. These groups will be allowed to visit a maximum of four bars, one of which must also serve food.

An over-18s rule in all premises selling alcohol will be enforced, and tour reps must give names of holidaymakers when they arrive by coach so they can be checked back out on departure.

In recent years the resort has been dogged by violence. Between mid-May and mid-September this year, there were two killings, nine rapes of British women and 18 arrests for drug offences, 14 of whom were Britons - while travel reps and holidaymakers were arrested for drunkenness and public nudity.

The Association of British Travel Agents welcomed the crackdown. Around 350,000 British holidaymakers visit Rhodes annually and agents fear the youth market, which makes up only a fifth of the total, will destroy the island's reputation for family holidays.

But the new rules may not go far enough. Abta spokeswoman Frances Tuke said: "Fifty people on a bar crawl seems an awful lot, and many of the problems last year happened when these organised bar crawls finished and people carried on drinking afterwards."