Prices have plunged for Britons on self-catering holidays in Europe, according to a survey.

The cost of groceries at supermarkets has dipped as much as 45 per cent in some resorts compared with this time last year, the survey by Post Office Travel Money showed.

Also involving holiday company Cosmos, the survey looked at the cost of 20 typical grocery items for one week for a family of four on a self-catering break, with 10 popular European holiday destinations covered.

The 20 items, including beer and wine, cost the least €51 on Spain’s Costa Blanca, while the priciest resort was Limassol in Cyprus where the items cost €95.

However, the cost in Limassol was still nearly 27 per cent lower than this time last year, with the biggest year-on-year fall, of 45 per cent, being in Majorca.

After the Costa Blanca, the next best-value destination was the Portuguese Algarve, where the 20 items cost €56.

The survey also showed that those on self-catering breaks are far better off shopping at supermarkets than at local mini-marts.

The 20 items bought at a mini-mart in Crete, for example, were more than 60 per cent more expensive than at a supermarket.

Mini-mart prices were cheapest on the Costa Blanca, where the items cost €62, and priciest in Crete (€143).

Beer at a mini-mart on the Costa del Sol in Spain, for instance, was 143 per cent pricier than at a supermarket, while instant coffee in Crete was 259 per cent more costly at a mini-mart.