A YOUNG boy spent three days in hospital with food poisoning on a “holiday from hell”.
Young Alex Clayton, of Stainland, was one of many people who suffered serious stomach disorders after the trip to Turkey.
Now he and his father are taking court action after the dream trip was marred by uncooked chicken and faeces-infected swimming pools.
First Choice Holidays is being sued by 659 individuals who claim to have suffered severe stomach disorders on a First Choice holiday at the Holiday Village Hotel in Sarigerme, Turkey, almost two years ago.
The firm is already the subject of a £3m writ from more than 400 holiday-makers stricken by gastric bugs in the Dominican Republic.
Alex was on holiday with dad Paul, 41, mum Nicola and baby sister Megan when he was taken ill.
His dad – who was himself violently ill for several days – said: “He started vomiting and very quickly became seriously ill.
“We took him to the medical centre in the hotel and they were very good. They put him on a drip to get fluids back into his body and he was then transferred 100 miles to a hospital in Marmaris.
“Nicola went with him and stayed there for three days while I stayed with Megan.
“Neither Megan nor Nicola were ill but many others were. We believe it was the food and both Alex and I had meals from a snack bar.
“The hotel itself seemed very clean but it was bursting at the seams with people. We had picked it for two weeks in the school holidays and you don’t know how much time food was left out.
“I certainly won’t be going back there”.
The High Court writ says many of the claimants developed gastroenteritis, including salmonella, c-difficile, and other infections.
They claim the illnesses were the result of uncooked white meat and poor hygiene standards.
The writ, issued at London’s High Court claims staff at the hotel left the buffet salad bar uncovered, allowing flies to land on it, re-used disposable cups, mixed fresh food with old and handled raw and cooked meats without washing their hands.
The grim catalogue of complaints includes staff refilling water bottles from dregs left by guests and excrement being removed from the swimming pool with a net, without closing and cleaning the pool.
The holidaymakers accuse First Choice of failing to inspect hygiene standards at the hotel and of failing to inform guests leaving after April, 2008, of an outbreak of gastric sickness to give them the chance to cancel.
First Choice has admitted liability for its suppliers’ negligence, the writ says, but the two sides cannot agree on compensation.
The holidaymakers had stayed at the hotel between April and October, 2008, and the writ says many fell ill with gastroenteritis, vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach cramps.
Many were routinely treated by the hotel’s medical staff with antibiotics, which is not usually used for viral infection, but the holiday village’s manager Nikki Parri wrote to some in September, 2008, saying the sickness was caused by a virus similar to the UK winter vomiting bug, the writ states.
An audit by First Choice in September, 2008, is said to have noted minor dirt under shelves in dry stores, failure to cover food in freezers, failure to keep chicken and mince cold enough, and the placing of crates directly on the floor.
