Expert Travel Lawyers Investigating Cause of Holidaymakers’ Illness

A group of British holidaymakers have instructed expert travel illness lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate after their holidays this summer at the Hotel Belleville, in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria were ruined by severe gastric symptoms.

Ann and Richard Thurlow, from Bowburn, County Durham, are among the holidaymakers taking legal action. They booked a two-week holiday with tour operator Airtours trading as Thomas Cook Tour Operations Limited at the three-star hotel but just days into their stay they began suffering diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach cramps.

On their return to the UK earlier this month, they continued to suffer symptoms and visited their GP for treatment and tests to diagnose the illness they are still suffering with.

The retired couple and five other holidaymakers have reported that on occasions food served was undercooked. They have also reported that sometimes food was left uncovered for long periods of time during the sitting and food was on occasions served at incorrect temperatures. The couple reported witnessing new food being added to existing food on a number of occasions.

Ann and Richard have said that other holidaymakers at the hotel were suffering with similar symptoms and Irwin Mitchell has had calls from other people who were ill at the resort at the same time.

Amandeep Samra, an expert travel lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, representing the group said: 

Expert Opinion

“The reports of the illness suffered by Ann and Richard, as well as a number of other holidaymakers that have instructed us, are very worrying. It is even more concerning that they report that a large number of people staying at the hotel were also ill.

“Gastric illnesses can have a significant impact on the day-to-day lives of victims and some people affected by these kinds of illnesses can suffer long-term symptoms, from which they may never fully recover.

“It is too early to identify the cause of the illness and whether more could have been done to prevent it. Our investigations will include consideration of the conditions and hygiene measures which were in place at the hotel at the time to prevent the spread of illness at the Hotel Belleville.

“We are now investigating the cause of the illness and would urge anyone else who suffered similar issues to contact us as they may be able to help with our enquiries.” Amandeep Singh Samra - Associate Solicitor

Ann, 52, said: “The food and hygiene standards at the Hotel Belleville were not at all what we expected when we booked the holiday and both of us fell ill just a few days after arriving.

“The food we received was not what we expected and on a number of occasions we saw staff adding new food to existing food. We also found some of the food to be undercooked.

“It wasn’t just us who were affected by illness at the resort; there were a number of other guests who were suffering the same horrendous symptoms we were. We are still suffering the effects of the illness and we’re waiting for the results of the tests we have had taken.

“We have now instructed Irwin Mitchell to investigate the cause of our illness because we want answers about what caused our nightmare holiday.”

Kerry Allan from Glasgow and Christopher Lochhead from Johnstone have also instructed Irwin Mitchell after falling ill during their stay at the hotel.

Kerry, 24, said: “I never expected to fall ill whilst on holiday. However, both Christopher and I fell ill during our stay at the hotel suffering from symptoms of diarrhoea and stomach cramps. We are continuing to suffer from the effects of our illness now and our holiday is now memorable for all the wrong reasons."