With around 70 million visits abroad a year, the British people are a nation of travellers. However whether it is a business trip, holiday or exploring the world in a student gap year, travelling can be quite stressful and when things go wrong many people have no idea who to turn to.

International Rescue is a smartphone application within the Trafficmaster Companion suite of travel services. This service provides round the clock travel experts who are on hand to help you in any emergency. Teams of experts located in over 40 countries from France to South Africa can assist you whether you have broken your leg on an alpine mountain, been mugged on the Paris Metro or lost your passport - and as they have local knowledge they can even help you find your nearest chemist or cash machine.

At the press of a button travellers are connected to Trafficmaster personal assistants in the UK who have access to in-country local teams and can provide a liaison between you, British embassies, the police, border controls and emergency services such as ambulance, fire, mountain rescue and coast guard. What’s more they provide concierge services so if you have missed your flight they will find you a restaurant or an overnight hotel whilst you are waiting for the next plane.

Tony Eales, Chief Executive of Trafficmaster, says: “This is a ground breaking service that provides round the clock security and re-assurance. When you are abroad it is difficult and confusing to know who to contact in an emergency. Often problems are escalated because of delays in communication, a lack of co-ordination between various parties and of course language barriers. Our travels teams have the knowledge and authority to quickly deal with situations and ensure problems are managed effectively.”

International Rescue is particularly valuable to business travellers, families on holiday, lone travellers and students exploring the world. This provides not only peace of mind to the traveller but also to family and friends. To take advantage of the International Rescue service Trafficmaster collates all your personal information such as next of kin, passport number, blood group, allergies, current medication and insurance details. This information is securely stored and only used when an emergency arises.

International Rescue is now available on Blackberry, Symbian and Windows based mobile phones and will be launched on the iPhone next month. Simply search for Trafficmaster Companion in your apps store or go to the Trafficmaster website and download the International Rescue service. The service download costs £20 a month or £65 for an annual subscription. Calls to the travel experts from your mobile are charged at a normal UK landline rate.

International Rescue is part of the Trafficmaster Companion suite of travel services, which includes UK based satellite navigation, live traffic information and 24 hour personal assistants.