Our Butlin’s family trip turned into the holiday from hell: Mother-of-four claims her whole party was struck down ill at Skegness resort

• Laura Strickland’s partner and children fell ‘violently sick’ after having dinner
• An investigation is ongoing as extra service measures were put in place 
• Have you fallen ill while on holiday? Email [email protected]

The mum of a family-of-five described their holiday in Butlin’s as ‘horrendous’ after their whole group fell ill.

Laura Strickland, 34, stayed at the Skegness resort from Monday, July 31 to Friday, August 4 with her 34-year-old partner Carl Fisher, 12 and 11-year-old sons Ben Strachan and Kaiden Cooper, and three-year-old daughter Evie Fisher.

After having dinner at Ludos restaurant on the Wednesday night, she says her partner Carl and son Kaiden were ‘violently sick’ when they got back to their apartment. 

An investigation is currently taking place at the resort with extra service measures in place as a suspected norovirus outbreak was detected by the UK Health Security Agency.

Butlin’s disputes food poisoning and offered a full refund for the meal.

Laura Strickland and her family of five had a ‘horrendous’ holiday at Butlin’s after all of them got ill during their stay

Miss Strickland, who works in the NHS, said that there was ‘no basic cleanliness’ in place at the resort

Miss Strickland said: ‘It was horrendous. It was an awful restaurant, all the pasta was dry. We said we weren’t happy and just left.

‘That night we got in and my partner and 11-year-old son were violently sick.’ 

Butlin’s has apologised for the family getting unwell during their stay and said it is looking into the claims.

Miss Strickland said her other son, 12-year-old Ben, fell ill at 8am the next day and was ill for six days. 

She said: ‘Ben developed bad symptoms, he had the shivers and I was wondering how I was going to get him home. I was considering taking him to A&E because he was so lethargic and not holding down water.

‘It was a nightmare of a journey home as I had to sit in front and drive whilst people were being sick and we had to stop numerous times.’ 

Miss Strickland also said that after the family first fell ill on the Wednesday, they then did not leave the room and stayed in the apartment for the rest of the holiday.

She said she fell ill herself after getting back from Butlin’s and it lasted for 24 hours. 

The mother-of-three said: ‘On the Monday when we got there, my partner found that the men’s toilets were filthy and there was no handwash. That’s not helping with the cleanliness at the resort.

‘There were piles of sick near the Ludos restaurant and near Studio 36. My partner also witnessed someone being sick during swimming.’

Ben, 12, was ill for six days, as the family stayed in the apartment for the rest of the holiday

Miss Strickland, who works for the NHS, said she had only had that one week off to spend with her family. 

She said: ‘It’s hard to not get any bugs going around but there was no basic cleanliness in place, I didn’t see anyone going around and cleaning. Even in the apartment, I had to clean it myself.

‘I went to Butlin’s years ago, we normally go abroad but just wanted a cheaper holiday this year. We are really gutted. My partner said we are never going back again.’

The family has also asked for some sort of refund due to it spoiling their holiday. A Butlin’s spokesperson said: ‘We’re sorry to hear Laura and her family were unwell during a recent visit to resort.

‘We offered a full refund for their meal and no other issues were raised to us directly when on resort. Our team regularly clean throughout the resort including all toilets every hour.

‘Since a small number of guests reported sickness on resort, to keep our guests and team healthy, we have implemented comprehensive changes to service measures and cleaning to ensure everyone can enjoy their stay.’

They added: ‘We’re currently looking into the claims made by Laura and will respond when we have concluded our investigation.’

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