They were once status symbols for wealthy Brits living the millionaire lifestyle in Dubai.

But now, they are just powerful images showing how the worldwide economic crash has left even the rich financially ruined.

These high-performance cars have been left abandoned at the airport by expats who fear being jailed because they are in debt.

Sign of the times: Thousands of high-performance cars have been left abandoned at Dubai airport by expats who fear being jailed because they are in debt. This is a Ferrari Enzo worth £1million

Dusty: Another luxury car left dumped is this Honda NSX which was worth about £75,000

Dumped: Instead of facing possible jail sentences under the strict debt laws in Dubai, many Brits have decided to return home, without even bothering to sell on the cars. This is a Jaguar XJ220 worth £200,000

Instead of facing possible jail sentences under the strict debt laws in Dubai, the Brits have decided to return home, without even bothering to sell on the cars.

Luxury cars which have been left at the airport with the keys in the ignitions include Mercedes, Audi’s and Jaguars.

But by far the biggest surprise to police in the wealthy oil-rich state was the discovery of a £1million Ferrari Enzo.

Just 399 of the powerful vehicles were built – with four currently on sale in the UK for between £775,000 and £1.5m.

Abandoned: Luxury cars which have been left at the airport with the keys in the ignitions include Mercedes, Jaguars and this Ferrari

Incredible: More than 3,000 cars were found abandoned last year, which were then sold on by police or scrapped, including this Audi

They have a six-litre engine and top speed of 217mph.

Speaking to The Sun, one expat explained that the financial crisis was the reason behind the cars being left at the airport, with many people seeing their finances slowly drain away.