“These scams are being reported in major tourist hubs across Europe, particularly in Spain, Italy, France and Turkey, where organised theft rings often operate around airports like Barcelona El Prat, Rome Fiumicino, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Istanbul Airport.”

Four people died in Spain, two in France and two in Italy as an early summer heatwave continued to grip much of Europe on Wednesday, triggering health alerts and forest fires and forcing the closure of a nuclear reactor at a Swiss power plant.