AFTER booking a four-star resort on a beautiful Greek island, a St Helens couple pictured the wedding of their dreams. Instead their special day turned into a nightmare after they and their guests were hit with food poisoning.

Chris and Debra Cunliffe, from Parr, travelled to the Lindos Princess resort in Rhodes, along with 19 guests, to tie the knot.

But after being struck down with gastric illness, which included symptoms of nausea, stomach cramps and diarrhoea, the couple are seeking legal action against travel company Thomas Cook.

Their two children, Jessica, five and Megan, four, were among those who fell ill.

“It was dreadful – as we got through the holiday people were starting to disappear ,” says Debra, 31.

“You would see people throwing up by the side of the pool, it was horrible.

“The night before the wedding day I was being sick and we bunged ourselves up with diarrhoea tablets and paracetamol and at the evening meal we saw people starting to wilt so it was wasted.

“We’d booked it 18 months ago and it was devastating. We were very disappointed with the conditions at the resort. We would like answers about what caused us to become ill."

A Thomas Cook spokesperson said: "We know how important holidays are to our customers and how upsetting it can be when they fall ill while overseas. Our resort team offered guests in residence at the time their support, and our customer services team liaised closely with the Cunliffe party on their return to with a view to resolving their concerns directly.

"However, we have been approached by a no-win, no-fee lawyer that the Cunliffe party have chosen to act as their legal representative. While our investigation into the illness continues, we are unable to provide further comment so as not to unduly influence any potential legal proceedings.”