A COUPLE from Pwllheli are part of a group of over 500 holidaymakers who have instructed lawyers to investigate after falling ill on holiday in Cape Verde.

Karen Edwards, 58 and her partner, David Watkinson, 55 travelled to the TUI Blue Cabo Verde on 2 October but were so ill they cut their holiday short and paid for an earlier return flight to the UK on 9 October.

They fell ill with severe stomach cramps; David was also prescribed antibiotics for sickness and diarrhoea. They saw a doctor at the resort who prescribed anti-sickness tablets, but continued to suffer from symptoms so bad they had to cut their holiday short.

Shop owner Karen is still so ill she has been unable to return to work, and she and David have seen their GP who has taken samples from them for testing. David’s tested positive for Campylobacter.

The couple had concerns over the standard of the food at the hotel and said flies were everywhere and cats begged for food around buffet areas. On one occasion, having cut into a lasagne, Karen said the meat was pink and uncooked.

Karen said: “Dave and I have still not fully recovered from what we suffered at that terrible hotel, and I think someone needs to explain exactly how the situation that left us so ill was allowed to develop. We still cannot believe that this is billed as a five-star TUI hotel.

“We felt there was no choice but to leave as soon as possible. We had seen the doctor at the resort, were forced to attend the medical centre and reported matters to the TUI representative, but nothing seemed to change.

“Hotel management said they would do what they could, but that amounted to being offered room service.

“We completed the complaints form in resort but were not given a copy and management only seemed to care when we made clear that we were leaving. We got an email from the hotel, and they appeared shocked and tried to persuade us not to leave.

“It was clear that there were problems at the hotel, and we were really worried about other people arriving for their holiday, unaware of what was happening. Those arriving as we left looked to be older people and we genuinely feared for what might happen to them.

“The standards at this hotel were completely unacceptable and I’m not surprised others had similar experiences. Apologies at this stage aren’t good enough and I think those responsible for the state of affairs at that hotel have a lot of explaining to do. What everyone needs now is the reassurance that something is being done to see that this doesn’t happen to anyone else again.”

More than 500 British holidaymakers have instructed lawyers to investigate having been struck down with gastric illnesses during their holidays at a number of hotels in Cape Verde this summer, all book through TUI. The hotels are: Riu Palace Santa Maria, Riu Cabo Verde, Riu Palace Boavista, Riu Funana, TUI Blue Cabo Verde, the Sol Dunas and the Melia Dunas. Many holidaymakers have questioned why they were allowed to stay at their hotels when it was known others had already fallen ill.

Jatinder Paul, leading the team of specialist international serious injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell supporting those affected, said: “We are supporting more than 500 people, including more than 200 people who stayed at the Riu Palace Santa Maria alone, who at best had their holiday ruined and at worst had their health seriously affected following stays in the Sal area of Cape Verde.

“That so many should have been affected at these hotels, in the same region under the same tour operator, has left the people we are representing with a lot of questions over what happened to them this summer and we’re determined to help them find the answers.

A Tui spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear about these experiences in Cape Verde, however as this is now a legal matter it would be inappropriate to comment.

“We’d like to reassure customers that we regularly audit all of our hotels in respect to health and safety, including hygiene.”