There was a 6% rise in arrests worldwide last year, when 6,015 people were handled by British embassies.

Spain topped the list for detentions, with nearly 2,000 - up 9% on 2010 - ahead of the USA and Thailand.

The Foreign Office thinks the rise could be down to resorts popular with UK tourists developing a zero tolerance approach to drink and drugs.

"Punishments can be very severe, with tougher prison conditions than in the UK, and we cannot interfere in another country's legal system," said Foreign Office minister Jeremy Browne.

On the Balearic islands of Ibiza and Majorca there has been almost a 30% increase in arrests, with more than 500 people in total detained.

The head of the local UK Consulate, Paul Abrey, has described the rise as "dramatic".

"We see younger people coming to places like San Antonio and Magaluf who don't know the laws.

"There are also more drugs available on the street," said My Abrey.

Most arrests on the islands were for drunken behaviour, such as fighting or criminal damage, as well as drug-related crime.

According to Fair Trials International, a person can sometimes spend up to four years in jail in Spain before trial.

Having a British passport does not make you immune to foreign laws and will not get you special treatment in prison

The British Embassy on the Balearic islands also says more people are travelling there independently, instead of on a package holiday.

It believes this takes people out of controlled environments and means they have less local guidance.

Elsewhere, worldwide arrests for drugs are also up 2%, with the Foreign Office dealing with 816 cases last year.

More than half of people getting into trouble worldwide are under 34 years old.

Foreign Office minister Jeremy Browne believes many tourists wrongly think they will simply be transferred home.

"Having a British passport does not make you immune to foreign laws and will not get you special treatment in prison," he warns.