Having an accident or injury on holiday is shocking because holidays are he one time when you expect to be able to enjoy yourself without worrying.

Road traffic accidents are now one of the most common holiday accidents, but more people are suffering serious injury after falls from height (eg balconies, staircases) or in sports accidents on holiday, such as quad bike accidents or water sports accidents.

It is just as easy, however, to slip on a marble floor at your hotel and sustain a fractured wrist or ankle – or even slip off a kerb and sprain your ankle.

When you have been injured on holiday, it is good to know you can have some contact with agencies and organisations back home, which can help sort out the formalities and help you either carry on with your holiday or get you back home quickly.

Tweeting is also the quickest way to get information out there and get a response, so if you are stuck with a bent fender in Faro and are not sure what to do, tweeting your plight could net you a wealth of good advice.

Motoring organisations like the RAC and AA are now on Twitter – RAC has a main Twitter feed and also Twitter.com/RAC_Breakdown.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) also offers a wealth of advice to travellers on Twitter (www.fco.gov.uk/en/news/social-media/twitter) and the local British Consular office is also likely to tweet, so if you find yourself involved in an accident abroad and need legal help or general advice, tweeting could get you sorted out quickly.

The FCO also updates information about what is happening in different destinations, including social or political unrest or any outbreaks of illness or extreme weather conditions which might mean you have to be evacuated by the British Government – keep in touch while abroad with the FCO Twitter feed and make sure you don’t miss your ticket out of a sticky situation.

NHS Choices (twitter.com/NHSChoicesTalk/@NHSChoices Talk) is also on Twitter and can offer health advice about holiday illness and more serious injuries, as well as when to get help.

If you are seriously injured in a holiday accident, legal firms specialising in holiday injury claims now also have Twitter feeds and can advise on your situation if you are hospitalised through no fault of your own while on holiday abroad.

Having an accident in the sunshine abroad can damage your holiday experience and it’s vital you have correct holiday insurance to ensure you can pay for any medical treatment you may need.