Within days of arriving at a their four-star hotel in the Bulgarian resort of Obzor Beach, a British family were struck down by severe food poisoning, reports the Birmingham Post.

John and Anita Riley stayed at the RIU Helios Bay Hotel with their two children, Jack, 13, and Megan, 16, in July this year. The one week all-inclusive trip had been booked through Portland Holidays Direct, part of the Thompson Holiday Group.

Soon after arriving the family began feeling unwell, with only daughter Megan escaping illness and, on returning to the UK, Anita was diagnosed with salmonella food poisoning. Anita Riley told the Post, "During our stay we often noticed that the food, which was often left uncovered, appeared to have been reheated and was undercooked. One by one Jack, John and I fell ill… (we) were all confined to our room with stomach cramps and diarrhoea"

The Birmingham Post reveals that it is not the first time that problems have arisen at the hotel. Three years ago problems were first reported but this summer alone dozens of holiday makers have suffered serious gastric illness, including four confirmed cases of Salmonella.

A spokeswoman from Portland Holidays told the Birmingham Post, “At Thomson, the health and safety of our customers is our primary focus. We closely monitor all the hotels to which we operate to ensure that the strictest health, safety, hygiene and comfort levels our customers expect are maintained.

“The RIU Helios Bay is a very popular with Thompson customers and continues to score highly on our customer satisfaction questionnaires. We are genuinely concerned to hear of any illnesses reported in our properties.”