£13,000 for couple in ‘holiday from hell’

A SCOTS couple left in ‘excruciating pain’ after catching a bug on a ‘ holiday from hell’ have been awarded almost £13,000 in compensation.

Scott and Katrina Ferguson and their son Thomas and daughter Taylor spent £3,000 on a two-week break at a Turkish resort, which later featured in TV’s Watchdog programme. The couple have now been awarded £6,400 each as part of a £1.7million settlement awarded at the High Court in London against First Choice Holidays and Flights Limited.

It wasn’t until the family saw the consumer show five months after their 2009 holiday that they realised others had become ill while staying at the Holiday Village resort in Sarigerme.

Resort staff told the Fergusons, from Gilmerton, Edinburgh, their illness had been a one-off.

But the programme revealed more than 400 guests had suffered gastric illness, with over 100 catching infections including salmonella, cryptosporidium, campylobacter and E.coli.

Mrs Ferguson, 43, a council worker, said: ‘My husband got unwell first, then me. I was in excruciating pain – I couldn’t leave the room. When we asked reception for a pharmacy they said they hadn’t heard of any other guests being unwell.’

Mr Ferguson, 42, a taxi driver, said the case has taken more than four years to complete.

Suki Chhokar, a partner in legal firm Irwin Mitchell, said she was ‘delighted’ after winning the £1.7million settlement for the hundreds of guests who she said suffered ‘terrible times’.