'Are there vampires in Poland?' and other odd questions the Foreign Office was asked in 2018

The Foreign Office has revealed some of the more unusual appeals for help it has received this year, including a man asking if vampires were in Poland because a woman he was due to meet for a date asked for his blood type.

Another man in Thailand wanted help as he argued against paying for a massage after falling asleep during it.

Talk of the British High Commission in New Delhi selling vegetarian sausages prompted one man to call and someone in the Canary Islands wanted help persuading his hotel to give him a new room after a stray cat had "broken into" his original one and urinated on his bed.

The Foreign Office said it received more than 330,000 calls from Britons who needed help between January and November this year, including 4,900 people who were arrested and more than 3,400 people who had been taken to hospital.

A spokesman said: "I can regretfully confirm that the Foreign Office isn't able to offer advice on vampires, rogue stray cats or Strictly contestants. And our capacity to deploy veggie sausages remains sadly lacking.

"But in all seriousness, getting into trouble abroad can be daunting and upsetting.

"If you find yourself in an emergency in another country, contact the nearest British Embassy, High Commission or Consulate and our consular staff will do everything they can to help."