Bury mum seeking legal action after Cape Verde illness on TUI holiday

Lawyers are now representing 1,107 people who were struck down with serious gastric illnesses at luxury hotels on the African island in the last three years.

Hundreds were left hospitalised as a result of their symptoms after their five star breaks turned into "holidays from hell" - and include children as young as three.

Illnesses include E.coli, salmonella and the bacterial infection shigella which can have a long-standing impact on the bowel, and can even prove to be fatal.

All of the 1,107 booked their holidays through the tour operator TUI.

The new group to seek legal action includes 40 tourists who fell ill during and following stays at Riu Palace Santa Maria in Sal, Cape Verde, this year.

Eleven were hospitalised and the hotel is the place where most people have fallen ill with 396 holidaymakers, including 63 this year, coming forward.

Meanwhile, Riu Funana is second with 218 cases,18 this year. Riu Cabo Verde has seen 192 cases - 56 in 2024 - since 2022.

Sarah Tootell, from Bury, has asked Irwin Mitchell lawyers to investigate her illness.

The 44-year-old mum travelled to Cape Verde on May 8 for a week-long stay with her nine-year-old daughter, Halle.

Having lost her husband more than six years ago, the trip was the first time Sarah travelled alone with her daughter and was intended as a chance for a break and scatter her husband's ashes whilst there.

The mum and daughter were returning home in the early hours of May 16 when Sarah began to feel feverish and unwell.

By the next day this had become severe sickness and diarrhoea and the symptoms became so bad, Sarah consulted her GP.

Tests confirmed she had tested positive for shigella.

Sarah continues to feel nauseous and still struggles to eat normally.

Sarah said: "This was the first time I had travelled on my own with Halle and took a lot of courage to book in the first place, so I'm devastated by the way things have turned out.

"The room had a strange damp smell, but I didn't complain we just wanted to get on with the holiday.

"I had concerns about the food, including the number of animals around and flies on some of the dishes left out.

"We always avoided these but there also seemed to be a lot of food brought back to life too, with ribs at lunchtime recycled in a rib curry at night.

"I felt unwell on the trip home on May 16 and by the next day I had the most horrendous diarrhoea and sickness that just went on and on and the stomach cramps were terrible.

"I'm pretty fit but you worry what would happen if someone more vulnerable went down with such an illness and people need the facts."

Sarah Tootell and her daughter Halle (Image: SWNS/Irwin Mitchell)

Diane Taylor, 57, an accounts co-ordinator from Bridge of Don, Aberdeen, fell ill after paying £4,156 to stay at the Riu Palace Santa Maria in Sal, Cape Verde, in August.

Diane was travelling with her husband John, when five days into the holiday, she was struck down with severe diarrhoea, coupled with shooting pains throughout her body, shivers, fatigue and loss of appetite.

The couple said they had a number of concerns about the standards at the hotel and believed that others had fallen ill at the same time they were staying.

They found cockroaches in their hotel room and said they were such a common occurrence that hotel staff gave Diane a can of bug spray to deal with them.

Diane was also concerned about food hygiene standards and the pair complained in a letter to TUI.

Diane said: "Without a doubt this is one break away we'll never forget; it was the worst holiday ever.

"Everything that could go wrong did. Right from the start our key cards didn't activate and the room wasn't clean and in a poor state of repair.

"It was really terrible and for those several days, I have never felt so ill in my life. I wasn't able to eat due to the stomach cramps and nausea.

"As I started to feel better, I sought out bland food and lived off bread rolls and chips. The whole nightmare wasn't what I was expecting for a five-star hotel.

"On the last night, I looked at the food again and it seemed dishes like the salmon were uncooked and we decided eating wasn't worth the risk.

"We've now seen so many terrible reports and stories from people who stayed at this hotel. It feels like there are many concerns and that people need answers.

"I want to know what's going on and what is being done to stop others from falling ill like I did."

Josephine Black, 53, a council worker and her husband, Graham Lamont, 59, an NHS training manager, travelled to Riu Palace Santa Maria on May 10 for a week.

They were on their first five-star all-inclusive holiday, to celebrate their daughter Freya finishing school and to enjoy a final family holiday before Freya started university.

Josephine started to experience severe sickness on May 11. Graham fell ill on May 16 and went on to lose 17lbs in weight.

Meanwhile, Freya, 18, and her 13-year-old sister, Nina, complained of stomach cramps and diarrhoea on the day they returned home.

Josephine, of Glasgow, said: "This trip was booked as probably our last family holiday together.

"We've never tried five star or all-inclusive before and this seemed a perfect time. We couldn't have been more wrong.

"This is the last thing you expect from a five-star holiday and we now wish we'd never been.

"I just wish we'd seen some of these reviews before we left."

Jatinder Paul, the international serious injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell supporting the holidaymakers, said: "Despite all the reports of illness from guests who have stayed at hotels in Cape Verde, it's staggering to think that three years after the first reports, we're continuing to see significant numbers coming forward reporting debilitating illness.

"Our clients continue to report alarmingly similar illnesses and are understandably angry at how this state of affairs has been allowed to continue.

"Cape Verde seems to be a hotspot for these cases and our clients have many questions.

"As the numbers of cases continues to mount, we're determined to help them secure the answers they deserve.

"We'd be interested in hearing from other guests who have fallen ill at these hotels in the Cape Verde this year as we investigate whether there is a common source of infection."

TUI has been approached for comment.