British holidaymakers will be cut off from access to UK versions of streaming services including Netflix and Amazon Video after Brexit, the European Commission has said.

After years of waiting, from April 1 UK citizens were finally set to benefit from rules allowing "portability" of online streaming services, meaning British holidaymakers could continue to use the UK versions of Netflix, Sky's Now TV and other paid-for streaming apps.

But British citizens will lose out on this benefit post-Brexit. A policy document from the European Commission stated: "As of the withdrawal date, persons residing in the United Kingdom will no longer benefit from their digital content subscriptions when travelling to the EU."

UK Netflix, for example, gives viewers access to around 2,500 movies, while in France there is only access to 1,700 and Germany 1,500. In France, blockbuster films such as Jurassic World and the Hunger Games series are not available, nor are British comedies like Gavin and Stacey.

The rules apply to other paid streaming services, such as music streaming and video games, although they were not set to apply to BBC iPlayer, which was set to be exempt as it is a service paid for by licence fees. A BBC spokesman said it had been looking into making iPlayer available in the EU ahead of the new portability directive.