Amorous British backpackers 'to blame for spread of STDs Down Under'



Risky: British backpackers in Australia have triple the number of sexual partners they would have at home



British backpackers in Australia have triple the number of sexual partners they would have at home – and are potentially spreading sexually-transmitted diseases with their risky behaviour.



British and Australian researchers said that 'of those arriving single and having sex in Australia, 40.9 per cent reported inconsistent condom use and 24 per cent had unprotected sex with multiple partners.'

The findings were revealed in the October edition of the international monthly journal on sexual health, Sexually Transmitted Infections.

What’s more, young Englishmen are among the worst overstayers in Australia, with many not returning home until after their visas have expired.



'They are often young Englishmen who have gone to a party and are a few days late because they're having such a good time in Sydney,' Immigration Minister Chris Evans told Parliament.



'Or they've met a young lady and they're having a good time.'



Researchers at the John Moores University in Liverpool and Australia's National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre said British backpackers regularly used bars and nightclubs, with 60 per cent of young men and 30 per cent of women also using illicit drugs.



The researchers carried out a survey of more than 1,000 backpackers at hostels in Sydney and the tourist 'mecca' of Cairns in northern Queensland and found that young British travellers often indulge in frisky behaviour even if they were not single when they arrived in Australia.



Of those who arrived with a partner of the opposite sex, said the researchers, over a third ended up having multiple partners in Australia. The number increased to almost half among those who arrived in the country on their own.



‘You're coming out here looking to meet new people and have new lives and you leave the girlfriend at home and meet liberal women,’ backpacker Liam Ryan, 27, told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.



As many as 700,000 Britons travel to Australia each year to soak up the sun and take part-time jobs under special work-visas to help fund their travels.



And while many do nothing more than enjoy the sights and weather on land and sea, there is a darker side to the adventures of young Britons.



'Backpackers are at high risk of sexually-transmitted infections and other negative sexual health outcomes,' said the researchers.



They called for better efforts to warn backpackers of risky behaviour not only before they left the UK but also during their travels.



Young travellers have so much fun that they don't want to leave, immigration officials admit.



Singling out British backpackers in particular, Immigration Minister Mr Evans said: 'Visa overstayers are people who come on a valid visa, who then become unlawful overstayers.’



He said they usually went home within a week of their visas expiring.



The revelations about British overstayers have resulted in one writer to Sydney's Daily Telegraph commenting: 'And we are worried about a few boat people. Let's can the planes from Europe'.



Another writer said: 'Are you surprised? They do say Brits are under-sexed, so they're getting it while they can!'





