School’s out for summer from today and thousands of families will be crossing the Channel for holidays in France.

But if motorists don’t have florescent jackets and warning triangles in the boot, they could face fines of more than £100.

That's just one of the bits of advice found on Kent Police's new bilingual "travelling abroad" section on its website.

Found at www.kent.police.uk/travel, it’s designed to help reduce accidents and make it easier to report crime.

The site, which also has a translated version for French visitors to the UK, was developed by Kent Police crime researcher PC Philip Harvey-Hendley, who wanted to make it easier for UK day trippers to Calais to report crimes against them.

PC Harvey-Hendley said: "Reporting a crime in France is very different to reporting a crime in England.

"Victims can now go online, download a bilingual crime report and take it with them as one of their essential travelling documents.

"The emphasis is on victim care. It takes the stress out of reporting a crime abroad and reduces the incidence of reporting a crime back in the UK."

UK first

The site is a UK first.

Edmund King, the president of the AA, said: “The AA is delighted that Kent Police has taken this initiative.

“We receive many calls from motorists unsure what to do when they are a victim of crime abroad.

"In distance Europe is not far away but in motoring terms it can sometimes seem like another planet.”