Family holidays ruined by illness

TWO Warrington families are among a group of nearly 300 tourists whose holidays were ruined while staying at a Bulgarian hotel with a long history of illness outbreaks.
Stephen and Diane Molyneux, from Warrington, had their honeymoon ruined when they were struck down with illness while staying at the hotel, and complained that the complex smelt of sewage and there was wiring coming out of the walls.
Colin Carey and Vicky Fleming, also from the town, were also hit by illness, even though they had expressed concerns before they embarked on the holiday and had those concerns dismissed by tour operator First Choice.
Lawyers representing the tourists, say First Choice’s continued denial of responsibility for failing hygiene standards at the hotel has forced them to take court action.
National law firm Irwin Mitchell is taking legal action on behalf of 276 clients against the travel company after it denied responsibility for the outbreak of illness, including cases of Shigella, suffered by guests during the nightmare holidays at the Royal Park Hotel between June and October 2008.
Travel experts at Irwin Mitchell have already successfully recovered a substantial settlement for 95 holidaymakers who fell ill at the resort in 2004, 2005 and 2007.
Clive Garner, spokesman for the law firm, said: “It is almost beyond belief that First Choice has continued to deny liability for this terrible outbreak of illness at the Royal Park Hotel.
“Many of our nearly 300 clients suffered severe illness at this hotel with some suffering Shigella, an illness which can have fatal consequences.
“Many of our clients have told us that they were unable to obtain medical treatment in resort as the queues at the clinic were so long because of the number of guests seeking medical treatment for illness. Around 40 of our clients also had to seek hospital treatment on their return home.
“Tour operators have a responsibility to ensure that the hotels they send their customers to are of a reasonable standard, and that they comply with health and safety regulations, which are in place to protect their guests. The failures that occurred at this hotel were very serious indeed and should not be tolerated. First Choice’s denial of liability and refusal to apologise and voluntarily compensate our clients is breathtaking.
“We want nothing more than for First Choice to sit down with us and negotiate a fair settlement for each of our 276 clients as soon as possible. But if they refuse to do so, we and our clients will see them in court.”