British travellers to Spain have been warned to beware of highway robbers targeting some of the most popular tourist routes.
Motorists who get out of their cars after being flagged down by passing drivers are being robbed and left stranded.
Organised gangs are targeting foreign drivers heading for the coast and creating a distraction to steal passports, cash and computers.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office warned of a surge in the thefts ahead of the summer peak.
Most of the 612 emergency travel documents issued by British consulates in Spain this year followed motorway attacks, according to the FCO.
It has released a video showing footage of robberies and some of the tactics used.
Gangs often flag victims down, indicating there is a problem with their car.
While one robber gets out to distract the tourists, their unseen accomplice steals documents, money and valuables from the car before making a swift getaway.
Gangs are operating routinely along the coast between Barcelona and Alicante, across Andalucia in the south and in the Madrid region.
Spanish police have had to deal with 126 British victims of distraction thefts on one motorway – the busy AP7 from the French border to Valencia – in the past two years.
Another main highway where cars with GB number plates or rental stickers are being targeted is on roads from the northern ferry port of Santander to Madrid and further south to Spain’s beaches.
The FCO told The Times: “Distraction techniques can be very effective with honest people who think they are being helped by a good Samaritan, when in fact these criminals are the opposite.”