'I live on the Costa del Sol; there are 3 things I miss about the UK'

THERE are around 400,000 British citizens officially registered as living in Spain, although some estimates say the true figure could be closer to a million.

- BY MICHAEL MORAN

They're drawn by the milder weather, laid-back lifestyle and - it must be admitted - number of other English-speakers making the language barrier less of a problem.

But while they gain a great deal from relocating to Spain, many expats admit that there are also things that they miss.

Mark Danby, who is documenting his life in the Costa del Sol on his Tapas Guy YouTube channel after quitting Stockport, tells the Express that it's only on visits home that he realises there are three things he misses:

1) Pubs

The first, is the classic British establishment - a pub. "One thing I do really miss, as much as I like the Spanish bars, it's a good old English pub," he said.

"Every time I go back, the first thing I want to do is go into a pub and have a pint of beer."

There are, though, signs a slice of the UK pub scene is reaching Spain. Wetherspoons recently opened their first pub in the country, in Alicante Airport.

2) British food

There's no doubt the Spanish boast an impressive, and delicious, range of food, from tapas to paella. But Mark admits missing the home comforts of a good old-fashioned fish and chips.

"You can't get good fish and chips here... maybe if you go to Gibraltar, I've had some decent fish and chips, but you can't get fish and chips round here that are decent. Fish and chips, steak pie and chips, stuff like that."

3) Family