Preston family struck down with suspected food poisoning in Turkey while step-daughter is hospitalised

Around 25 tourists have been struck down by a suspected food poisoning outbreak at the Rixos Sungate hotel in the Mediterranean. Rebecca Wright, 37, who travelled with her partner David Bracewell, 43, step-daughter Charlie Bracewell, 14, and children Oliver, 10, and Indie, three, complained to Tui about it early last week before Charlie had been hospitalised. She received a message back saying: "We have spoken with the hotel and they have responded saying: Our hotel doctor is following the issue closely and conveyed that this situation may occur as a result of weather changes, especially day and night temperature differences, seasonal factors, especially allergic reactions." The family had paid around £4,000 for their 10 day getaway when step-daughter Charlie fell ill and went into hospital for three days where she was diagnosed with gastroenteritis and they now have medical bills of around £3,000 to fork out for.

"I am so worried about being able to fly home”

Executive PA Rebecca, from Preston, Lancashire, told the Sun newspaper: “I’ve been absolutely exhausted and felt so ill. There are more people coming down with it every day. It's laughable they suggested it was the weather. I am so worried about being able to fly home. I went out of my room for two hours and had to go back to bed feeling exhausted. We are all petrified of the buffet. We all think it's food or drink related. Literally, since my step daughter got ill we have lived off bananas."

Those affected range from a 22-month-old baby to a woman in her 60s, and many guests have been worried about being too unwell to catch their plane home. Now both the ill and healthy guests are petrified of eating from the buffet or drinking the water there because they fear that might be the source of the issue. A support WhatsApp group was set up for everyone and one lady, who had not been struck down, went out to buy food from a local shop for others.

The resort, which boasts 13 bars and restaurants including a ‘world food’ buffet and sushi diner, has a 4.5 out of five-star ranking on Tripadvisor. German firm TUI describes it as a “platinum” venue that is “tailored for families”. Last May the firm paid out £232,000 to eight Brits who suffered food poisoning at a resort in Lanzarote. TUI said that their health and safety team are investigating and liaising with the hotel: “We are concerned to hear of a small number of cases at Rixos Sungate. Our team at the resort are offering support where necessary. Our health and safety team are investigating in close collaboration with the hotel and we will remain in frequent contact with our guests. We’d like to reassure all customers that we regularly audit all of our hotels in respect to health and safety, including hygiene."