Jetaway Britons cash in on euro

Sales of the euro are brisk as British holidaymakers heading for Europe cash in on the new single currency.

Bureaux de change reported brisk business in euros in the early hours of the day.

A spokeswoman at Heathrow airport says all travellers heading for European destinations adopting the euro have opted to buy it.

She said: "It's a fairly quiet day of the year for us, but we've done quite a bit of business so far in the euro.

"You can still get the old currencies for a short while if you want them, but we are advising customers to take out euros as they will get their change in euros if they pay in the previous currency."

Passengers checking in for European flights broadly welcomed the new currency saying it would make future transactions simpler once they were used to its value.

Father of three, David Sharpley, 44, from Oxford, who was heading to Rome with his family, said he hoped the changeover would not be too complicated.

He said: "It's probably not the best day to go as everyone may be a bit slow on the take up as it is day one. I'm in favour of the euro and I'm sure once we're all used to it Britain will have to adopt it."

Neil Turner, a 27-year-old recruitment consultant, said he felt countries would lose their identity by changing to the euro, as he headed off to Italy.

He said: "Although it's a shame that some countries are losing their own currency, it does mean we won't lose so much in commission charges when we come back with currency to change."