A COUPLE from Ipswich are considering legal action against the tour operator that booked them on a “honeymoon from hell.”

Tom Potter

A COUPLE from Ipswich are considering legal action against the tour operator that booked them on a “honeymoon from hell.”

Tony Mills, 44, and new wife Keran, 39, were struck down by gastric illness just days into their two week holiday this July, at a hotel in Sharm el Sheikh.

The honeymooning couple, of Dhobi Place, became so ill during their romantic getaway to the upmarket Egyptian hotel that they were unable to leave the complex.

Now they have bought a legal complaint against tour operator Cosmos after spending most of their �2,500 break with irritable bowel symptoms, cramps, nausea and chronic fatigue.

The holiday started badly and got worse according to Mr Mills, who said: “We arrived at the hotel to find we didn't have a room with a balcony. There were no pleasantries but we were moved to a smaller room with a balcony.

“We decided to go snorkelling on the second day but Keran stood on some coral and had to have four stitches in her foot.

“Then all of a sudden this sickness appeared. It started hitting people after a couple of days of being there.

“By the end of the honeymoon all we were eating was fresh pasta and soup.”

The couple, who claims there was unacceptable catering hygiene at the hotel, are apparently not the first guests to complain about service at Sheraton Sharm.

Rajbir Somel, from Irwin Mitchell's travel litigation team, which is representing the couple, said: “What is even more frustrating about this case is that the firm was approached in 2007 by clients that had endured a similar experience at this hotel, and that in the two years since it seems no progress has been made in rectifying the hygiene issue there.

“We hope that Cosmos will take steps to ensure that there are no further incidents of this nature in future.”

Mr Mills and his new wife claimed that guests were being served undercooked, lukewarm food sometimes containing flies and other insects.

He said: “This was Keran's honeymoon and her first holiday abroad, and we wanted very much for it to be a special experience. Instead we spent our holiday feeling awful and were unable to travel any distance from the hotel.”

A spokeswoman for Cosmos said the company had yet to be contacted by Mr and Mrs Mills since their return from Egypt and advised they contact the customer services department.