Go topless on holiday and even your travel insurance won't be able to help you out

The Foreign Office is reminding holidaymakers to check out local laws and customs before they travel to avoid arrest. If they do fall foul of any laws and end up in prison, they won't be able to rely on their travel insurance to bail them out.

The warning comes after several Brits were arrested while on holiday last summer, including one couple who were caught for allegedly having sex on a beach in Dubai.

Hundreds of thousands of women run the risk of getting into trouble with the law for sunbathing topless in countries where it's illegal, says the Foreign Office (FCO).

It also warned gay couples to avoid holiday hotspots Morocco and Goa where homosexuality is against the law. There were several incidents in Morocco last year where individuals were charged, resulting in one Briton being imprisoned for three months.

The FCO's Know Before You Go campaign manager Jess Prasad said: "Different countries have different laws and customs, and what's acceptable in Spain may not be acceptable in Greece or Turkey.

"With more people travelling outside the Eurozone this year it is ever more important that people familiarise themselves with the local laws and customs before they go."

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