Overseas students visiting Britain for the summer are to be given extra lessons in the quintessential English art of queuing.

Police in Devon and Cornwall hope the addition to the youngsters' curriculum will placate locals concerned about an influx of continental queue-jumpers.

Under the code name Operation Columbus, officers will be asking students to respect English customs and have printed posters saying "Be Polite, Join the Queue".

The advice also warns the teenage visitors against carrying weapons, dropping litter, stealing or making noise late at night.

'Unwitting'

Pc Simon Dell, co-ordinator of Operation Columbus, said he was keen to avoid frictions between the youngsters and local people.

A series of posters illustrate English etiquette

He told Police Review magazine: "We are all different, thank goodness, and the young people do come from different cultural backgrounds.

"But in Britain we are the biggest queuers on earth. We are saying to them 'don't push in'."

"We are saying to the students - make sure you are not unwittingly becoming a victim because of what you are doing or not doing."

Racist incidents

To drive the message home one poster features an oblivious cartoon backpacker nipping onto a bus as irate pensioners and a mother and child look on.

Devon and Cornwall are havens for foreign students and language schools because of their closeness to mainland Europe and large stretches of coastline.

Operation Columbus is being run in connection with language schools and local councils.

Police in the two counties say if any student is a victim of crime, the attack is treated as a racist incident.