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A record number of British holidaymakers turned to the Citizens Advice Bureau for help last month, with most of them running into trouble in the US, Spain and Ireland.

One traveller contacted the service after she was charged £23,000 for emergency medical care in Spain and her insurer refused to cover the bill, while a family sought help after their luggage was misplaced on a flight to the US and the airline refused to compensate them.

Nearly 6,500 travellers interrupted their holidays to seek help in July alone, according to figures prepared by the advisory service. 

Flight delays were one of the common problems encountered by holidaymakers who turned to Citizens Advice

The numbers are based on last month's record 28,000 visits to its holiday advice website.

One in four people logged on from abroad to seek help for problems including delayed flights, theft or issues with an insurance provider.

Holidaymakers in 172 countries turned to the online guide and most of the visits were made by travellers in the US, Spain and Ireland. 

One of the latest trends is people seeking help for passport problems, with Citizens Advice seeing an 18 per cent increase in related queries.

Hefty bill: A woman contacted the agency after she was charged £23,000 for emergency medical care in Spain

The service says an analysis shows that it has helped more than 200,000 people online with holiday problems worth more than £14 million in the past year. 

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: 'Summer holidays should be a time to unwind, but last month we saw the highest number of people ever turn to our online advice to sort out problems with their break.

'You usually have the right to claim compensation if a mistake by your holiday company, like lost luggage or a sub-standard hotel, affects your break. 

'Your holiday insurance can also pay out in these circumstances, so make sure you know exactly what your insurance covers before you go.'