British ex-pats flee the continent to get away from eurozone turmoil

British expats in Spain and Greece are selling up to escape the Euro crisis, it has emerged. Research shows that 39 per cent of Brits who own property in Greece are trying to sell, while 34 per cent who live in Spain have put their houses on the market. The findings, from the foreign exchange broker HiFX, comes after separate research last week revealed that the number of UK owners making enquiries about selling eurozone homes this year is up 191 per cent on the same period in 2008. Idyllic: The view might be spectacular and the weather warm but the euro crisis is causing ex-pat Brits to think of leaving Spain HiFX's marketing director Mark Bodega said: 'If Greece were to exit the Euro and return to the drachma, we would expect their property to immediately devalue by anything up to 50 per cent.' Britons who have already agreed a sale could also lose out when the sale value of their property in Euros is converted to sterling, Mr Bodega said.   More... Britons rush to ditch euros...but some will buy a half-price holiday home Chillax with Dave: G8 leaders Cameron, Obama and Merkel relax by watching Chelsea victory (but aren't they supposed to be saving the economy?) Side by side on a gym treadmill, Obama and Cameron race to stop final euro catastrophe Growing eurozone crisis threatens to shatter Britain's stock market and crush hopes for economic recovery Britain could be plunged into another credit crunch if Greece leave the euro... and this time we may never recover, warns finance chief Lesley Wilton, 56, lives with her husband Patrick Tetlow, 57, and their children Oscar, 13, and Daisy, 12, near Marbella. The family has lived there for the past 11 years but are now contemplating a return to Britain because they are struggling to make ends meet. Their property is on sale for 300,000 euros (£242,000) - 40,000 euros less than they paid for it nine years ago. Ms Wilton told The Sunday Times: 'Every time the pound strengthens against the euro the potential savings we will have to take back to England go down.' Struggle: Lesley Wilton, 56, and husband Patrick Tetlow, 57, with their children Oscar 13, and Daisy, 12, may have to relocate from Spain to the UK Tara Ghale, 44, has not had a single viewer since her Marbella home went on sale 240,000 euros last year. Ms Ghale, who lives with her daughter Calypso, 15, told the newspaper: 'What's happening with the euro is a worry. 'It will become a real concern the moment I get an offer on the house. 'I need money to have a chance of starting afresh in the UK.' She added: 'The thought I may have to start again with nothing if my pounds pot is diminished is very demoralising. 'I fear for the future.' Fears for the future: Tara Ghale, 44, may be forced to return to Britain because if the harsh economic climate in Spain The credit crunch in 2008 has already force Louise Hynd, 44, to relocate from Dassia in northern Cyprus to London. Ms Hynd, who built the property, said: 'I was set up in my lovely house but I lost all my buyers.' France has not been hit as hard by the euro crisis as Greece or Spain but nevertheless property values are still falling and affecting expats. Mr Bodega said: 'A typical home in France priced at 250,000 euros would have cost £213,000 on February 24 while now, ten weeks later, it would cost just £200,800.' Besides falling property prices, may ex-pats in Spain have been falling behind with their mortgage payments and having their homes repossessed because of the country's economic meltdown. Average property prices have plunged 27per cent across Spain since 2007, but on the Mediterranean coast, home tothousands of Britons, prices have nosedived by up to 70 per cent.