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Britons rush to escape World Cup fever

ENGLAND'S football stars are not the only ones who will be packing their bags in readiness for this year's World Cup.

One in eight Britons are planning to book a holiday in order to avoid television coverage of the event.

Women are most likely to be fleeing to country in a bid to escape the World Cup television coverage, the survey by American Express Travel Insurance found.

Some 56% of all women polled said they had holiday plans for this June.

The poll of 10,000 travel insurance customers found that 7% had delayed their holiday abroad until England is knocked out, while 2% have booked a holiday where they know they will still be able to watch the games and a further 2% plan to travel to Germany to watch the matches live.

Nearly one in five (18%) are aiming to avoid the television completely. On the other hand 28% plan to stay at home and watch as many matches as possible.

Joanne Field, marketing manager, American Express Insurance Services, said: "If England gets knocked out of the World Cup we are expecting a rush of last minute bookings."

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