A WOMAN needed time off work after suffering food poisoning during a birthday holiday in Cape Verde.

Paula Jones says she developed symptoms including diarrhoea and stomach cramps four days into her week-long stay at the five-star Riu Touareg Hotel in September.

The trip was arranged as part of celebrations for her friend’s birthday.

Paula says her symptoms persisted when she returned home to Woolston, meaning she had to take time off work and subsequently reduce her hours.

Now, the 52-year-old, has instructed Irwin Mitchell’s specialist International Personal Injury team to investigate how her illness developed during the holiday and whether more could have been done to prevent the problems.

Amandeep Dhillon, the legal expert at Irwin Mitchell who is representing Paula, said: “We have already begun our investigations into Paula’s illness and are determined to find out what caused it, to ensure that, where possible, lessons can be learnt to prevent other families from facing the same issues. As part of our work and to assist with our investigations, we would be keen to hear from anyone else who may also have been affected by illness while staying at the Riu Touareg hotel, Cape Verde.

“Currently, we have been approached by more than 40 holidaymakers who have recently suffered with illness at this hotel, which is hugely concerning and we continue to be approached by further holidaymakers on a daily basis.

“Sadly, it is not the first time that we have been asked to represent holidaymakers who have suffered illness at the Riu Touareg resort - we have successfully acted for holidaymakers who holidayed at the resort in 2015 and more recently in 2017. We also continue to act for claimants who travelled to the resort last year.”

Paula’s holiday at the Riu Touareg resort was booked through tour operator TUI and began on September 2. However, four days into her holiday she began to develop symptoms.

She said: “The illness was absolutely awful and when I returned home I knew I would have to seek medical help. I was immediately advised by my GP that I was suffering with food poisoning and I couldn’t believe it – this break was supposed to be relaxing and falling ill was the last thing on my mind.”

The illness had a lasting impact on Paula’s life back in the UK, as she needed to take time off from her job as a Holmes indexer and then also had to cut her hours while continuing with her recovery.

She added: “There were a few issues which concerned me during the holiday and I even complained to reception about the smell of sewage in the toilets. At times, food was served uncovered and flies were able to get to it. There were also lots of cats in and around the hotel, including the restaurant. I also remember thinking the hygiene standards were poor and staff didn’t even wear gloves when they were handling the food.

“Falling ill was just the final straw and I am devastated that the holiday ended in the way it did. You simply never expect something like this to happen when you go away and I just hope steps can be taken to prevent others from facing similar issues in the future.”

A Tui UK spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear of Ms Jones’ experience. As this is now a legal matter, it would be inappropriate to comment further.

“We’d like to reassure customers that we regularly audit all of the hotels we feature in respect of health and safety, including hygiene.”