London - A homesick expat asking where he could buy English bacon, and a man concerned by Spanish nudists, are among the most bizarre consular calls made by Britons abroad in the past year, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has declared.
The FCO provides assistance to British travellers abroad and stressed its services should only be used in emergencies.
However, in the nearly 500 000 calls made to the FCO's consular services last year, officials said there were some unusual requests that wasted valuable resources.
One man planning to move to Spain who was worried he would encounter nudists walking through the streets asked for consular assistance, as did a homesick expat asking where he could buy English bacon.
Operators were also contacted by a woman in Lebanon looking for help recruiting an English butler and a man in Singapore asking for assistance obtaining illegal employment.
Another traveller requested travel advice for the town of Coventry, and a man in South Korea wanted guidance on what he could do with his old pound notes. A European filmmaker even called looking for an English pensioner to play a part in his new production, while another woman rang because she was disappointed the British Embassy had not sent someone to give her a tour of St Petersburg on her arrival in Russia.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister James Duddridge said: “Our consular staff are a helpful bunch and do an amazing job helping out Brits in trouble around the world - but it is important that people remember they are there to help with genuine emergencies and not as an alternative to directory enquiries.
Operators were contacted by a woman in Lebanon looking for help recruiting an English butler “Every minute they spend handling a call requesting advice on butlers or nudists is time taken away from dealing with life and death cases, so I urge the public to think before picking up the phone.”
The Independent