District Command says that the un-roadworthy cars in the fleet will be repaired as soon as possible, but for now the lone patrol vehicle is all there is to deter and respond to crime, plus two bikes.

"One of the patrol cars is smoking, it has been for ages, and our officers refuse to drive it. The other two have faults that render them illegal to drive," said a police source, who requested anonymity when questioned by the national media today.

Portugal’s employable nationals are leaving the country as fast as easyJet can carry them with another 30,000 heading to the UK last year to seek a better quality of life than in their homeland where unemployment and low wages make staying an unattractive proposition.

Most left to go to jobs and the total is 50% up on the 2012 figure, according to official UK records.

Portugal has a worldwide reputation for its quality footwear, lying just behind Italy in quality image recognition, and is to invest a further €20 million in promoting itself internationally.

The plan for the next two years is to attend trade shows in every key export market to show that the Portuguese footwear industry is "the most sophisticated in the world.”

Inflation in Portugal rose by 0.1% in January, below the eurozone’s average of 0.8%.

Portugal’s average inflation rate over the last year to January 2014 was 0.4%.

Real earnings for full-time workers in the UK have dipped back to the level they were more than a decade ago.

Earnings fell, in real terms, every year from 2008 to 2013, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Britain is turning into a land of renters, reversing the drive to increase homeownership pushed by Prime Minister Thatcher.

Home ownership has dropped to its lowest level for 25 years.

The number of new companies registered in Portugal in January this year was 4,289, a decrease of 22.6% year on year but the number of insolvencies fell 24.5% to 452 cases, according to the D&B barometer.

According to D&B, over the last 12 months 34,044 new companies have been registered, an increase of 3.0% year on year, while the number of insolvencies has dropped to 5,328 cases, 10.9% down on the previous year.

The Algarve’s cuisine and its wines aim to be the main attraction to the region's stand at the Lisbon Tourism Fair taking place between 12th and 16th of March in Lisbon.

Cooking demonstrations are planned from on-site chefs offering tastings to passers by. This is part of a new message from the Algarve Tourist Board to show that tourists "can also be captivated by the belly."