A MID Devon family, who claim poor hygiene standards left them quarantined for three days, are among the hundreds of tourists suing a leading travel firm for an alleged holiday from hell.

Kevin and Carly Taylor, from Head Weir Road, Cullompton, are embroiled in a High Court battle with First Choice after claims a two-week stay at a hotel in the Dominican Republic left them ill in the summer of 2007.

Claimants suffered acute gastroenteritis following their stay at the all-inclusive four-star Bahia Principe Hotel in San Juan and complained of poor food hygiene standards, along with a number of other conditions, according to a writ issued at London's High Court, which was recently made publicly available.

The writ states that holidaymakers saw mice on tables, dogs were allowed in the restaurant and the buffet area was covered in flies, with birds picking at left over food.

Mr Taylor said: "On the first full day we noticed there was a meeting and people were throwing up in the gardens and bushes so we knew there was something wrong."

The writ also said that holidaymakers saw piles of vomit in the restaurant, that bottled water was refilled with tap water and food was not fit for human consumption. There were also complaints of cockroaches and ants in the bedrooms and bathrooms, blocked toilets and defective showers.

The four-star hotel, it is claimed, smelled of sewage, urine and vomit, and the swimming pool sometimes contained faeces, which was scooped out without the pool being decontaminated.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell is representing the claimants and solicitor Amandeep Dhillon said: "Originally the outbreak led to a group of over 1,000 clients pursuing claims primarily against First Choice and Thomas Cook/My Travel.

"However, the Thomas Cook and My Travel claims were settled for a record sum of around £3.5 million. First Choice have not settled so far and we are now pressing for an early court hearing, hopefully later this year.

"There are not as many claimants in the claim against First Choice — just over 400 — but I would anticipate that a total compensation sum of around the £3 million mark could well be involved."