TUI resort to be investigated after Potters Bar family fall ill

Bunty and Panna Shah, and their children Jasmine and Dylan, are among 12 tourists who fell ill during and after holidays at the TUI Blue Manar in Hammamet this summer.

The family began their two-week holiday on July 5, but on July 14, Jasmine began suffering from vomiting, diarrhoea, a fever and stomach cramps.

Two days later, Panna began to experience the same symptoms, before Dylan became ill on July 19.

Bunty, who has the lifelong digestive condition Crohn’s disease and became ill upon returning to the UK, said: "The enthusiasm and excitement we had about our holiday quickly vanished when we started falling unwell. 

"It was awful seeing Jasmine and Panna poorly. I believed it would only be a matter of time before Dylan and I fell ill."

The family said they had a number of complaints with the hotel including insecticide being sprayed while they were in their room and food in the buffet restaurant which was not labelled correctly.

The TUI Blue Manar in Hammamet, Tunisia. (Image: Google Maps)

Panna, a strict vegetarian, said she found meat dishes frequently next to vegetarian dishes and witnessed lots of cross contamination with spoons.

"We couldn’t even keep down water and I’ve never been so ill in my life. All we wanted was to be home," she added.

"To make matters worse when we did try to raise our concerns, we felt ignored. It was such a relief to get home but it wasn’t the case of getting home and feeling better. Even now we’re still not right and suffering symptoms. 

"We’ve since seen social media rumours regarding the hotel and that other guests have also reported falling ill so you wonder how many others could have been affected. 

"We wish we’d never gone on the holiday as it was a complete nightmare. However, we can’t change that but the least we deserve is answers as to what happened."

Specialist international serious injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell have been called in to investigate the resort.

"We’re being contacted by a growing number of people across the UK who fell ill during holidays to the TUI Blue Manar this summer," said Irwin Mitchell partner Jatinder Paul.

"While their trips were separate, many of our clients are reporting suffering the same serious symptoms, including severe sickness and diarrhoea.

"If during the course of our investigations any issues are identified, action needs to be taken to reduce the risk of other holidaymakers falling ill in the future.

"As part of our investigations, we would be interested in hearing from other guests staying at the hotel at the same time as this group."

The Welwyn Hatfield Times reached out to TUI for comment, with a spokesperson saying: "This is now a legal matter and we can’t provide a comment."