A GREAT-grandmother has been awarded £3,500 compensation after having a family holiday ruined by a stomach illness brought on by poorly-prepared hotel food.

Kathleen Smith, 72, from Rawtenstall, was staying at the MinaMark Resort in Hurghada, Egypt, with her daughter, Lindsay Ambler, granddaughter Karli, and great-granddaughter Lexi Mae when she became ill with severe abdominal cramps.

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Mrs Smith, of Alder Street, noticed that much of the food served at the hotel buffet was left uncovered and flies were free to land on it.

When her symptoms of painful cramps, diarrhoea and drowsiness did not let up for 12 days of their fortnight-long £700 retreat in June last year, she contacted the resort GP.

The doctor confirmed the pensioner had contracted acute gastroenteritis and was put on a drip in her hotel room.

Mrs Smith said: “It really was a horrible experience. The illness ruined our holiday; falling so ill during a holiday is not something you expect to happen.

“I spent a lot of my time in the room.

“But I wasn’t the only person complaining at the hotel, a lot of people were.

“It was obvious the food wasn’t being covered properly to protect it from bacteria.

“It was our fifth time visiting Egypt but the first at that resort.

“It has put me off going back to the country.”

Mrs Smith then contacted Your Holiday Claims to pursue a case for compensation.

Anne Thomson, the head of travel law at Your Holiday Claims, said: “One frequent cause of gastroenteritis is eating food which has been under-cooked or that has been contaminated with bacteria. It is vital that all hotels have and maintain high standards of food hygiene.”

A spokesman from Thomas Cook said: “We have extended our apologies to the party, and can confirm that we have reached agreement with their legal representatives to resolve this matter to the customer’s satisfaction.

“We would like to assure customers that incidents of this type are rare, as Thomas Cook and its subsidiary FlexibleTrips works closely with the management of all the properties to which it operates to ensure that only the very highest hygiene standards are maintained.”