A BOLTON woman has been left with a bitter taste after her dreams of a wonderful Big Breakfast holiday turned into a fiasco.

Karen O'Rourke, aged 42, of Lonsdale Grove, Farnworth, won a 'spectacular' holiday to Lapland last November when she rang up the Big Breakfast to enter a competition.

Since then she has been disappointed over and over again. She found out that the trip "to meet Father Christmas" was to be only for one day and that it would cost her and her husband, Frank, over £200 in insurance and other expenses for just a few hours in Lapland.

Mrs O'Rourke decided to go anyway but was further disappointed when the tickets turned up late and were for a date when she and her husband were unable to go. As an apology for the mistake, the Big Breakfast organised for her to go on the Orient Express instead.

Mr and Mrs O'Rourke were due to go on the famous train journey on January 4, but by January 2 the tickets had still not arrived. Mrs O'Rourke said: "I couldn't believe it. I telephoned the travel agents but they said I would have to call back on January 15 as there was no-one available to help me. When I called back I was told it was 'my problem' and they wouldn't help me."

The London-based travel agents are unwilling to send any more tickets as they claim they have already had to pay for the two holidays that have not been taken. Richard Lewis, manager of the travel agency, said: "We've sent out about 2,000 of these tickets but Mrs O'Rourke is the only one not to receive them. I can't keep putting my hand in my pocket to replace them."

Bob Massey, Executive Producer of the Big Breakfast, said: "We are not prepared to do anything else. How many sets of tickets are we expected to send out? We have tried to help but we have to draw the line somewhere."

Mrs O'Rourke said: "I'm supposed to be a competition winner but I've got nothing at all except a load of hassle."

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