WHEN George Walker booked a dream holiday to Turkey he never imagined he'd be posing for his holiday pictures in a hospital bed.

But George still managed to crack a smile for the camera even though he and his partner Chris Caulcott had both been hospitalised after catching serious stomach bugs.

The couple, from Rothesay Avenue, Thistleberry, were struck down with gastroenteritis halfway through their week-long stay at the Gumbet Relax Hotel, near Bodrum, earlier this month.

They have now sent letters of complaint to tour operator Goldtrail Holidays, claiming they became ill after a thunderstorm flooded sewers and caused some toilets in the hotel to overflow.

Chris, aged 46, said: "We spent the day after the storm round the pool, and people on the ground floor were saying their toilets had flooded, though we weren't affected on the second floor.

"But later that day George got a very bad stomach. He was cold and shivery with very bad diarrhoea and almost collapsing.

"The next day I came down with it too and it was so bad we were advised by a doctor to get in a taxi and go to the nearest medical centre, where they took blood and stool samples and put us on drips for a few hours.

"We knew of other people at the hotel coming down with it too. We couldn't believe we were spending our precious holiday in hospital."

The couple say their holiday did not get off to a good start when the advertised 45-minute transfer to the hotel took five hours.

They claim they then had to stay in a different hotel for the first night, before arriving at their destination on the second day. They paid £745 in total for the all-inclusive trip.

George, aged 60, said: "The journey to the hotel was a nightmare; there were no toilets on board and the bus only had main beam headlights so the driver had to keep switching off.

"The hotel seemed dirty and people were complaining about the food. I'm a big bloke and never catch anything but I went through hell in Turkey. I have never been so ill, and I'm still on tablets now."

Joe Lavers, of Goldtrail Holidays, said: "We will investigate customers' complaints when they are put to us in writing, and we have strict procedures and an appeals process if they are not satisfied with our response. All our hotels are health and safety audited."

A hotel spokesman said: "One night there was a lot of rain and some rooms were flooded, but people were moved immediately and the rooms cleaned thoroughly.

"We have inspectors who check us regularly and have had no complaints in the last few weeks about people being ill or standards of hygiene."