Until the financial crash ten years ago the British were the dominant foreign homebuyers in Cyprus, the former colony with deep-rooted ties to the UK. The Anglo-friendly laws, driving style and even electrical plugs — plus 320 days of sunshine a year and a laid-back lifestyle — made up for the four-hour flight to Paphos or Larnaca. A similarly relaxed attitude to the provision of title deeds on properties (which could take years) didn’t dampen the allure.

At least 25,000 British expatriates live on the island and thousands of holiday-home hunters flocked to the Paphos region, where they were the biggest buyers in Aphrodite Hills, a well-established golf resort. Aphrodite Hills is equidistant from Paphos and Limassol in the southwest of the island.