A GREENOCK dad has told how a dream family holiday to Bulgaria turned into a ‘nightmare’.

Anthony Wallis saved for a year to spend two weeks in the sun with his one-year-old daughter and family.

He forked out £5,000 for his break at the Thomson Tui Family Resort Nevis at Sunny Beach, only to arrive and find what he described as ‘a building site’.

Mr Wallis, 37, said: “It was the holiday from hell.

“It was meant to be a relaxing trip but it was far from it.”

He booked through Barrhead Travel in Greenock but became concerned when he later heard about problems at the resort the family had chosen.

Mr Wallis said: “Two weeks prior to our holiday my partner saw on social media that the hotel wasn’t ready and was turning guests away.

“The travel agents said they would pass on the concerns to Thomson but they said everything was ready.”

But when the family arrived at the resort they quickly discovered this was not the case.

Anthony said: “We were shocked to see simple things like the grass was not laid, fences not erected, walkways not paved and fences held together with masking tape.

“We situated ourselves at the baby pool, so my daughter of 16 months could enjoy the water in safety.

“We were horrified when a JCB turned up behind us and started to dig a hole approximately eight-feet deep.

“This work took place for three days without any safety measures put in place to stop children from falling in a hole until the third day. “

Mr Wallis says he also saw loose plastic manhole covers leaving a six-foot hole and an electric saw left lying outside a games room.

His room had no water for several days and a parasol at the baby pool flew off and injured a family member in his party.

Another family member hurt her leg at the pool because parts of it were uneven and rough.

There were also toilets without a flushing mechanism, sinks with no taps and the shower in the family’s room was not properly attached.

Mr Wallis, who works in a bank, said: “The sewage system had plastic manhole covers which came off quite easily.

“It wasn’t big enough for an adult to fall down but it was certainly big enough for my one year-old to fall down. It was a six-foot drop and there would have been no way we could have got her back out.

“You couldn’t go anywhere without feeling there was some potential danger to injury or danger to life."

Mr Wallis said the resort was supposed to have three water slides but one was not open and safety bars and glass were being held together with masking tape. 

He also claims there were not enough lifeguards to cover the massive pool area.

Mr Wallis has now lodged a complaint with Barrhead Travel about the booking. 

He said: “We are looking for a refund. The holiday we paid for wasn’t the holiday we got. We paid for a dream holiday and it turned out to be a nightmare holiday.”

A spokesperson from Barrhead Travel said: “Had we been contacted at any point during the holiday regarding these issues, we would have assisted immediately, however we were only alerted on the family’s return.

“As this was a Thomson package holiday we have raised a complaint with Thomson to investigate as a matter of urgency.”

A Thomson spokesperson told the Telegraph: “We’re really sorry to hear of the Campbell and Wallis party’s experience.

“This was booked via one of our third party agents and unfortunately there was a delay in receiving the customer’s letter of complaint.

“We have now received this and have replied via Barrhead Travel as per our procedures to offer our apologies and a resolution to the situation.”