British consulate office reveals bizarre phone requests

The British consulate office (FCO) has been asked for Phil Collins' telephone number and Prince Charles' shoe size, among its bizarre requests in the past six months.

The FCO - which offers assistance to travellers who have trouble abroad - has hit out at people for making odd requests, such as a man asking a consulate in Greece for information on how to go about putting a chicken coop in his garden, because it wastes their time.

Consular Affairs Minister Jeremy Browne said: "We will always try to help where we can but there are limits to the support that we can provide.

"It is important that people understand the level of help we can offer.

"Our priority is to help people in real difficulty abroad and we cannot do this if our time is diverted by people trying to use us as a concierge service."