A HATCH Beauchamp couple who spent most of a sunshine holiday holed up in their room with gastroenteritis have won £5,000 compensation.

Christian Magaña and Mark Trevelyan were in agony with stomach cramps, nausea and diarrhoea for days during their fortnight break at the Oriental Resort, in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh.

Mr Trevelyan, 29, took over a year to fully recover, while Mr Magaña, 30, was ill for two months after the July 2013 trip.

Mr Magaña, who suffered severe diarrhoea up to 12 times a day for nine days, said: “It was one of the worst trips we’ve ever encountered – and we travel a great deal.

“We’ve never experienced such abdominal pain and sickness.

“We spent the majority of our time closed in a hotel room, only venturing out to get water or try and eat something.

“The hotel didn’t allow any food to leave the restaurant even to guests who were ill, unable to leave their rooms.

“Family members and ourselves had to sneak food from the restaurant to their room as there wasn’t enough time between ‘episodes’ to eat and return to the room.”

Mr Trevelyan, who was “still not 100%” by August 2014, said he witnessed “birds on the terrace eating from the pasta station and plates, as well as cockroaches swarming a designated food area”.

Mr Magaña added: “We felt thoroughly let down.

“We felt alone and with no-one offering any help or solutions, the duration of the holiday was made more comfortable by the other hotel guests clubbing together and keeping spirits high, who were in the same awful situation as us.

“Never have either of us been in a hotel with so many people ill at the same time.”

Anne Thomson, head of travel law at Your Holiday Claims, which is a division of Farnworth Rose Solicitors, who obtained the compensation for the couple from tour operator Thomas Cook, said: “High standards of hygiene in holiday hotels are vital or outbreaks of illness will continue to arise and more holidays ruined.”

A Thomas Cook spokesman said they regretted the two men fell ill and confirmed the matter had been “resolved”.

He added: “We’d like to assure customers that incidents of this type are rare, as Thomas Cook closely audits all the properties to which it operates to ensure only the very highest hygiene standards are maintained.

“We’d kindly ask any customers who may have concerns relating to their holiday to contact us directly and as quickly as possible while in resort or the UK so that we can deal with them personally in an open, honest and fair manner.”