24 hours in the life of an overseas consulate [VIDEO]

Doubles all round (maybe not the best turn of phrase) at the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office today after reporting a fall in the number of arrests of UK citizens abroad.

Drug arrests are down 20%, overall number of those getting into trouble with the authorities fell 10% -- figures which come against a backdrop of just a 2% drop of Brits heading overseas in 2010.

Maybe the hard-hitting TV campaigns are having an impact and Brits are behaving better (hummm), or they are just not getting caught.

Either way, overseas consulates and embassies are usually on-hand to help out when someone gets in trouble or needs assistance.

So the FCO is on a bit of a awareness raising drive of its own this week to coincide with the release of the arrest figures, reminding people just how much and what goes on in embassies around the world.

Here is a neat clip illustrating what kind of incidents (”A Brit abroad mistakes us for a travel agent”) happen over a 24-hour period at the end of June this year. 3,950 of them.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbO-k0zJkqE