A WHITEFIELD family were left wandering the streets when their holiday company went bust.

Anita Juniper and her daughters Rochelle (19) and Jasmine (13) were left "homeless" in Benidorm.

All the hotels were full, and they eventually spent the night of their arrival in a youth hostel: a far cry from the four-star hotel they had anticipated.

The family managed to secure accommodation the following day at another hotel, but have to leave today (Friday Aug 14) because there is a big Spanish carnival in the town, and their room is booked. They have still to find a bed for tonight and tomorrow night before flying back on Sunday.

"It's been terrible from the moment we got here," said Anita (39) of Mayfair Avenue, Whitefield. "We didn't take much money because we were going full board.

"I'm a single parent, and we've not been away for six years. We saved up for a nice holiday together, and it's just turned into a disaster.

"We've not been able to unpack, we can't relax and enjoy ourselves, and it's nearly time for Jasmine to go back and start school at Philips High."

The family had booked their holiday with London-based Albion Travel. On arrival at Alicante airport, their coach was missing, and they had to pay for a taxi to the four-star Hotel Avenda. "They said they didn't know anything about our booking," said Anita. "The hotel was so busy we had to take our suitcases with us while we walked round the streets looking for a hotel. By 11.30pm we were exhausted, and stayed in a hostel which was full of old people and lads passing through, which was a bit scary for the children.

"Then we took a taxi to the other side of Benidorm, and one place said they had a room for us, but then told us someone else had already booked it. It was one thing after another."

Anita pleaded with the Benidorm Plaza, who gave them a room and board until today. She said the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) had promised to pick up the tab.

She added: "We're not going to starve, but I feel sorry for the girls: I wanted to take them on trips, but we can't even go to the beach because we cannot afford to hire the deckchairs. The girls can't even have ice lollies: we have to stay around the hotel pool all day."

There was one consolation for the family: Rochelle came second in a local beauty contest, and won them all free drinks and a meal in a nightclub!

A spokesman for ABTA said Albion Travel went out of business last Thursday and they were having trouble contacting them.

The company was set up in January and operated split contracts which meant they were making the package holidays up themselves, booking accommodation and flights separately. While the flights were organised with established companies like First Choice, the accommodation was looked after by Albion Travel. The Junipers' air tickets home on Sunday with First Choice are safe.

The ABTA spokesman said: "It looks like they have taken the money and run. Usually if a company goes out of business they will give us a list of forward bookings so we can contact the customers. Unfortunately, we have incomplete records for this company so are not sure how many people are affected. This is of real concern to us and we are investigating. It could be hundreds."

ABTA urged anyone who had booked a holiday with Albion Travel to contact their claims line on 0207 307 2041.

No one at Albion Travel could be contacted as the Bury Times went to press.