A COUPLE'S dream holiday to Egypt turned into a nightmare when they were struck down with gastroenteritis.

Carol and Brian Gregory, from Greenmount in Tottington, took the two-week break after cancelling a previous trip five years ago when Carol was diagnosed with breast cancer.

But instead of celebrating her good health, they were both left seriously ill with the sickness and vomiting bug and had to be placed on a drip.

Brian’s condition deteriorated so much that he was catheterised and later underwent surgery to reduce the size of his prostate, which had become enlarged due to a virus.

They are now seeking compensation from their tour operator Travel Interaction through Cheshire-based vacation compensation company Sick Holiday.

Carol, 68, said: “We never stopped thinking about our dream holiday and when we saw an offer online, we booked it. It turned out to be the worst thing we did. It was an absolute nightmare.”

The couple say their sickness was down to poor hygiene at the five-star Sonesta Pharaoh Beach Resort in Hurghada and the boat on which they spent eight days travelling down the Nile.

Carol says the nightmare started just hours into their trip when they were told the luxury boat that they were due to be travelling on had been replaced by a smaller alternative.

After a four hour journey through the desert from the hotel to their boat, they say they were met with a “disgusting” room with dirty carpets, towels and a mouldy bathroom and two-and-a-half hours later, Carol fell violently ill with diarrhoea.

She said: “All of a sudden I was hit with the feeling that something wasn’t quite right with my tummy and I just made it to the toilet in time. I didn’t leave the cabin that evening.

“From start to finish it was a nightmare. We came home on Friday the 13th, which was fitting, and went to the A&E at Bolton Hospital.”

“Brian has an enlarged prostate and the gastroenteritis had aggravated it. In March he had to have an operation to reduce the size of his prostate, which would have been totally avoidable had he not been so ill from the holiday. He still had to wear a catheter all this time.

“We have been to Tunisia and we have been to Morocco, so we know to be careful with food and drink, and we were. But we couldn’t have expected this. Getting ill was unavoidable.”

Richard Conroy, founder of Sick Holiday, a holiday claims company, said: “We have dealt with around 15,000 cases arising from Egypt in the last three to four years, so sadly Carol and Brian’s case is not isolated.

“Most of these cases involve people who have been struck down with gastro-bugs and suffer from violent vomiting and diarrhoea.

“We have seen a slight downturn in the amount of new cases coming from Egypt since flights from the UK to Sharm-al-Sheikh were suspended, but we expect this to rise again once UK travel operators return to the resort in the New Year.”

Travel Interaction preferred not to comment.