Menorca and Mallorca bug strikes down at least 70 British tourists

Around 70 British holidaymakers have been struck down by sickness at resorts in Mallorca and Menorca amid horrendous scenes of children “being sick all around” pools and dining rooms.

The news comes after more than 100 UK tourists staying at a four-star resort in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, were infected by another bug, which left some so ill they were put on intravenous drips.

Lawyers said they had been “inundated” with complaints about the Club Mac Alcudia inclusive hotel in Mallorca, Spain, where at least 50 people are believed to have fallen ill.

Emma Watkins, 32, from Tyne and Wear, said her three-year-old daughter was put on a drip in hospital because of the illness, which she also caught along with her partner and their son.

“It was our first family holiday ever, the first time we had gone away with the kids and it was so traumatic,” she told MailOnline.

“People were being sick everywhere, there were children throwing up all over the place, on the stairs, everywhere."

Other holidaymakers wrote about their experiences, stretching over two months, at the hotel on Tripadvisor.

One woman said 16 people of her group of 20 were stuck down with violent vomiting and diarrhoea in a week.

“The majority of the people in my party spent most of their time in their rooms with sick children, or being sick themselves,” she added.

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Another guest, from Cambridge, described an ill child being sick on her pancakes at breakfast and “poo in the pool”.

Tracy Stansfield, a solicitor at Your Holiday Claims, said some people who had contacted them reported being unwell weeks after returning to the UK.

She added: “We have received reports of undercooked food and poor hygiene standards and unless these issues are resolved, holidays will continue to be spoilt.”

Lisa Calpin, from Club Mac’s customer service department said the hotel asks guests to report any illness immediately to staff and has strict hygiene processes, including insisting all guests entering the dining hall use hand sanitiser.

Vicente Gimenez, the hotel's general manager, said there is a "very small percentage" of illness among around 450,000 guests staying between April and October.

He confirmed that Ms Watkins' family came down with a sickness virus that affected up to 45 of 3,600 guests at Club Mac at the time.

"This was a viral bug and whilst the hotel brought in additional hygiene assistance and external medical assistance, we were informed that the most likely cause was a virus. This was not cleanliness or food hygiene issue," he added.

At the three-star Stil Victoria Playa hotel, on the neighbouring island of Menorca, at least 20 more people have fallen ill.

A guest from Manchester wrote on Tripadvisor that her whole family went down with the bug, with her four-year-old son worst affected.

“No one apart from a maid who came to clean up our room bothered to see if we were ok and eventually we had to pay 120 euros to see the local doctor in the resort and pay for medicines,” she wrote.

“New people were arriving at the hotel and catching the bug and many people we spoke to afterwards had been sick.

“Thomson told us it was an airborne bug and nothing to do with the food or the pool but we have no idea if this was the case.”

Another person described children being “sick all around us, in the dining room and around the pool”.

A spokesman for Thomson said the company was aware of a “very small number of cases” of sickness in the Victoria Playa hotel and no new cases have been reported in a week.

“A thorough investigation has been conducted by an independent health and safety consultant, who has also confirmed that the correct containment procedures are in place,” he added.

“Thomson closely audits all the resorts to which we operate to ensure that health and hygiene levels are maintained.”