Weather sends footie fans abroad

Sales of holidays to Europe's main holiday resorts have soared this week, as the UK's weather has taken a turn for the worse.

The baking hot temperatures of the weekend already seem a lifetime ago, and this is prompting many Brits to head for guaranteed sunshine abroad.

Football fans will be watching the World Cup and topping up their tans at the same time in hotspots like Egypt, Greece, Spain, Turkey and Portugal, according to Lastminute.com.

The online travel giant has seen a switch in the types of people booking holidays from last week, when groups of girls were seeking to escape the World Cup hype at home.

This week holidays in resorts such as Sharm el Sheikh, Hurghada and Taba in Egypt, along with the Greek islands of Corfu, Kos and Rhodes are being booked by people determined not to miss a minute of England's World Cup progress.

"Not only is going to the likes of Rhodes, Kos, Majorca and the Algarve a great way of getting some early season sun, the prices at the moment represent fantastic value as a lot of people delay holiday booking until after England's fate is decided in the World Cup," said Lastminute.com's travel director John Bevan.

"However, those in the know are choosing to book now to travel within the next week or so meaning they can take advantage of the great prices, get some sun, see the World Cup matches and not gamble on the unpredictable British weather."

Where people are heading to watch the World Cup
1. Egypt: Sharm el Sheikh, Hurghada, Taba
2. Greece: Corfu, Kos, Rhodes
3. Spain: Majorca, Costa Brava, Tenerife
4. Turkey: Marmaris, Dalaman, Olu Deniz
5. Portugal: The Algarve, Madeira XXX