The British Foreign Office has warned tourists travelling to Cyprus to take pounds and euros as well as credit and debit cards as fears grow the banking crisis in the country will mean they cannot access money.

The Cypriot government announced plans for a savings levy in a bid to protect its banking sector over the weekend.

The £8.6 billion bailout agreed by the EU and IMF demands all bank customers pay a one-off levy and has led to heavy cash withdrawals.

The levy will not take effect until Tuesday but action was taken to control electronic money transfers over the weekend.

If the deal is defeated, state media say banks could be closed on Tuesday so as to avoid mass withdrawals.