Tired of mixed messages, British sunseekers in Portugal reacted with fury and disbelief to their government's decision to reimpose a quarantine regime for travellers coming from the popular southern European destination.

Desperate to shake off pandemic blues, John Joyce, from Newcastle, and his family decided to book a holiday in sunny Portugal as soon as Britain added it to the so-called green list of foreign destinations around three weeks ago.

"Everybody needed a little break... a change from being stuck at home," the 44-year-old said as he enjoyed a beer at a restaurant in the heart of Lisbon.

Portugal was the only big beach destination placed on the list, which allowed Britons to travel there without needing to quarantine when returning home. Like Joyce, thousands packed their bags.

But on Thursday Britain shifted Portugal to its amber list due to rising COVID-19 case numbers and the risk of a mutation of the virus variant first discovered in India.