When you see a Crete holiday advertised for less than £200, it’s more than likely to be in Malia.

The north-east coast is hugely popular with British holidaymakers because of its cheap hotels, sun, sand and sex. It has hit the headlines regularly over the excesses and misadventures of British tourists, so it has little reputation to lose from this latest tragic event.

The leading German tabloid Bild once warned its readers against visiting Malia and the surrounding resorts: “Binge drinking, sex and sand – three things that make this place on the east coast of Crete an attractive destination for the English.”

Mark Hodson of the Sunday Times once wrote of it: “Crete is one of the most beautiful islands in the Mediterranean, but it does have its share of hideous resorts. The worst is Malia.”

Traveller forums on websites like Tripadvisor.co.uk and Holidaywatchdog.com paint an equally bleak picture – tales of woe range from tendons severed on dance floors littered with glass, fighting in the streets and theft.

Last month Rob Hughes, a 27-year-old Briton, was beaten up by fellow UK tourists outside a nightclub in Malia. He was in a coma for two weeks and is still recovering in hospital in Crete.

Richard Adams, who went to Malia on a Club 18-30 holiday seven years ago, said of his experience: "Malia was an experience I would never want to revisit. As for the holidaymakers there – it’s to be avoided by anyone who has read a book."

Crime in resorts such as Malia and Faliraki, on Rhodes, are behind the ranking of Greece as the world’s most dangerous holiday destination, according to figures released by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office last summer.

More Britons were raped and hospitalised in Greece than in any other country – figures show there were 48 reported rapes in the period from April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006. During the same period, 955 Britons were taken to hospital in Greece - more than in Spain and France combined. And Greece ranked third, behind only Spain and the USA for the number of travellers arrested.

But Malia has its supporters too, who talk of its attractive old town, glorious weather, affordable hotels and its famous archaeological site, the Palace of Malia.

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