A new survey shows more than 2.5 million travellers could end up footing a heavy hospital bill because they have chosen not to take out travel insurance.

Many travellers choose to rely on the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) which replaced the E111 at the start of this year.

However, Tesco warns that travellers still need basic insurance as several treatments and services, including air ambulance repatriation, are not covered by the EHIC in certain countries.

Around three quarters of the 1,200 consumers surveyed by Tesco revealed that they had no idea about the cost of being flown home by air ambulance (£20,000).

Allan Burns, head of insurance at Tesco, says: "Most people think that because a mini break is short, they don’t need to insure themselves against accidents, thefts or cancellations. But our survey has shown that it is wise to do so. The cost of insurance is not high, but the cost of traveling uninsured could very well turn out to be."