Britons are throwing debt management caution to the wind when they holiday abroad, according to research by Abbey.

More than half of Britons (57 per cent) use a credit or debit card to pay for purchases abroad, with £73 million in unnecessary foreign exchange fees also paid out.

The Abbey Credit Card research also revealed that the average holiday spending budget is £274 per week.

Londoners appear to take the biggest risks with their debt management while abroad, expecting to spend an average of £332 per person per week on holiday.

Callum Gibson, head of credit cards at Abbey, warned that Britons need to "manage their finances more carefully".

He said: "Britons holidaying abroad this summer will pay out more than £73 million pounds in foreign exchange fees, a staggering and unnecessary sum."

The research also showed that more than two-thirds of Britons (69 per cent) like to keep their spending options open by taking a credit card with them abroad.

A survey by fairinvestment.co.uk in February found that one in 20 Brits have used between 91 per cent and 100 per cent of their savings since the credit crunch began to take its toll.