Boom in Channel crossings

THE number of people taking cross-Channel trips has risen 20 per cent so far this year - thanks to the strong pound.

Bargain-hunters have taken advantage of favourable exchange rates to go shopping in France and elsewhere, according to Visa research. A majority of travellers aged 55 or over said they planned to make six to eight trips a year. Most 20 to 34-year-olds said they planned just one trip to France. Visa said Britons made nearly 12 million cross-Channel trips in 1996 - a figure which is set to increase by around 10 per cent a year.