An eight-year-old girl is one of the youngest victims of a bug that swept through a Turkish holiday resort. The family of Kaitlyn Whitehead are among hundreds across the country who are suing travel firm First Choice Holidays for a total of £5m after staying at the four-star Holiday Village Hotel in Sarigerme in August 2008.
As revealed in the Manchester Evening News, more than 60 people from the region are taking action against the company. Kaitlyn, from Urmston, Trafford, suffered from an ear infection, severe stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Kaitlyn's sister Holly, 10, mum Michelle, 35, and Andrew, 41, all fell ill during their £3,000 two-week holiday. Personal assistant Michelle, who was ill for a fortnight after returning from the resort, said: "We had not been away for three years when we booked the holiday, we had saved and saved and were really psyched for it.
"There was just sickness everywhere in the resort. "People were queuing everywhere to see the on-site doctor. I will never forget a young boy sitting there with cotton wool in his ears screaming in pain. “There were ill people everywhere, people on drips in their hotel rooms, they were so poorly they could not leave. We even saw two people faint in the restaurant.
Horrendous
“Holly blacked out one night. It was horrendous we were in the middle of nowhere and there was no escape. "Even on the flight home everyone was ill and moaning about the place.
"By the end of the holiday there were men in white coats everywhere inspecting the resort. "All of us wanted to fly home. We couldn't relax and we spent no time as a family and my husband and I were constantly on tenterhooks feeling ill and tending to the children.
"It has put us off going abroad again, I would never go back to Turkey." Michelle said the on-site doctor was charging £90 per consultation which they could not afford and the family had to go on a two-hour bus ride to Marmaris to get medicines to treat themselves. Salmonella was confirmed in a number of cases at the resort and it is believed that badly handled and treated food may have been the cause of the food poisoning.
Michelle added: "The food was badly handled, raw and cooked food was mixed together, food was left uncovered, the seals on the bottled water were broken and food was recycled from the previous night. "It was horrendous, the place should be shut down."
Manchester solicitors Pannone LLP have started legal proceedings against First Choice on behalf of 659 tourists who stayed at the resort between April and October 2008.
Paul McClorry, a partner who specialises in travel law, said: "These holidaymakers have had their holidays ruined through no fault of their own and we hope to reach a settlement with First Choice but to date this has not been possible."
The Holiday Village Turkey is still being offered on First Choice's website. First Choice said it has carried out increased checks and brought in independent consultants. The firm says that on each occasion the reports rated quality standards at the property as high and above the standards required for inspections.
A spokesman said: "Whilst we accept that any level of sickness is unacceptable, the numbers of holidaymakers falling sick remains very low when the larger population is taken into consideration."
Manchester News reported online, you can read original article here
