Hygiene and safety standards at an Egyptian hotel are to be investigated after a mother and daughter from Fife endured a holiday from hell.
Ruth Stacey-Kerr, 59, and her daughter Roo, 23, from Dunfermline, were airlifted home after suffering serious illness and injuries at the three-star Smartline Colour Beach Hotel in Hurghada earlier this year.
The pair had originally booked to go to Tunisia in June but due to the terror attack there they changed their plans and went to Egypt in August.
But their two-week break turned into nine weeks of misery after both of them suffered serious gastric illness and other problems which meant they were unable to fly home until October 31.
“This is the worst holiday we have ever been on,” Ruth said, confirming they have instructed personal injury lawyers to investigate.
Both Ruth and her daughter suffered diarrhoea, vomiting and severe stomach pains in the first week of their holiday, while the pair said they were both bitten by bed bugs in their hotel room.
During the second week of their holiday, Ruth, a former nurse, was bitten as she relaxed by the lagoon, which caused swelling around her foot, and she was admitted to hospital for seven days causing the pair to miss their flight.
Just over a week later Ruth was re-admitted for a further three days.
Ruth was finally issued with a Fit to Fly certificate on October 2, but was admitted to hospital once again due to high blood pressure and acute bronchitis.
After being discharged on October 9, Ruth was told to return to the hospital to receive a second Fit to Fly certificate but, on the morning she was due to go, she slipped on steps at the hotel, falling backwards and banging her head and fracturing her tibia.
Following the fall Ruth was re-admitted to hospital for five days.
Her daughter also suffered a fall in their hotel room on October 25, when rain water seeped into the room during a downpour. She suffered injuries to the base of her spine and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance.
Eventually, on Halloween, the pair were flown home by air ambulance where Roo was admitted directly to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.
Amandeep Dhillon, a partner at personal injury lawyer Irwin Mitchell who is representing Ruth and her daughter, said: “We are now investigating the health and safety standards at the hotel and whether more could have been done to prevent the illness and injuries suffered.”
A spokesman for Thomas Cook said: “We can confirm that Ms Stacey-Kerr was admitted to hospital with an inflamed leg caused by an insect bite, however we do not have any record that the party reported gastric illness to a Thomas Cook member of staff or the hotel during their stay.
“We understand how upsetting it must have been to be unwell while on holiday, and our records confirm that our experienced resort team did everything they could to support Ms Stacey-Kerr and her daughter while in Egypt.”