Before the ordeal: Matthew and Leigh Hall on the beach in Cuba
A devastated bride spent her wedding night on a drip after a suspected salmonella outbreak on a Thomas Cook holiday in the Caribbean.
Leigh Hall, 29, spent £3,750 on her dream wedding at the luxurious Playa Pesquero hotel in Cuba.
But just hours after tying the knot in a romantic beach ceremony, she was barricaded in her hotel bathroom with diarrhoea and a fever.
The optical assistant then spent her honeymoon bedridden, unable to see her new husband or their baby.
‘Most brides get carried over the threshold on their wedding night,’ she said. ‘But I got wheeled into hospital.’
It is the latest blow to Thomas Cook following the deaths of a British couple last week.
John Cooper, 69, and his 63-year-old wife Susan died within hours of each other on a holiday with the tour operator in Egypt.
Their daughter has suggested they may have been poisoned by a ‘funny smell’ in their hotel room.
Mrs Hall and her fiance, postman Matthew Hall, also 29, had invited 24 guests to Cuba.
But a month before the wedding, she spotted comments on the resort’s Facebook group where guests complained they had fallen ill with salmonella.
She called Thomas Cook but was told there hadn’t been reports of salmonella for a month and that everything would be fine by the time her party arrived.
The couple, from Bristol, flew out with their seven-month-old son Alfie on May 24.
But within a week, four guests, including the best man, had become sick with diarrhoea and were bedridden, with their ordeal lasting five days.
The optical assistant spent her honeymoon bedridden, unable to see her new husband or their baby (pictured on a drip in hospital)
On the day of the wedding, the bride and groom were taken on a horse and cart to their beach ceremony, where they married under a wooden gazebo surrounded by tropical flowers.
The newlyweds posed for photographs on the beach before returning to their hotel for a sunset dinner.
But at about 9.30pm, Mrs Hall felt unwell and her bridesmaid took her to her room.
My dream wedding turned out to be a nightmare
‘The party was in full swing and I started to feel really sick,’ Mrs Hall said.
‘I had diarrhoea and I was vomiting. My temperature was high and I kept shaking.
‘Eventually, in the early hours, my mum and dad collected me and we went to the local medical centre in a buggy. I was put on a drip for three hours.
‘The treatment left us with a £600 bill which we are still trying to claim back with our travel insurance.’
She added: ‘The doctor in Cuba never told me what I had, but that [salmonella] is what the others at the resort had.
‘It wasn’t just the sickness and the bad belly – I still didn’t feel right for days after I got home. I lost nine and a half pounds in that time.’
Mr and Mrs Hall enjoying their wedding day on the beach in Cuba before disaster struck. Four guests, including the best man, became sick during their wedding getaway
Mr and Mrs Hall on their dream wedding day before their ordeal began. Mrs Hall felt unwell and her bridesmaid took her to her room at about 9.30pm
Hours after tying the knot in a romantic beach ceremony, Mrs Hall was barricaded in her hotel bathroom with diarrhoea and a fever (pictured with her husband before she fell ill)
At first Thomas Cook refused to provide compensation, instead demanding further evidence of her sickness.
The company eventually offered Mrs Hall £3,000 after being contacted by the Daily Mail.
She said: ‘Instead of enjoying the start of married life with Matthew, I was alone in our hotel room because I was worried he would end up getting sick.
‘When I complained to hotel staff, they told me my illness was caused by heat exhaustion and drinking too much.
‘But I have a seven-month-old baby – I was sitting in the shade the whole time.
Back home: Mr and Mrs Hall with their 10-month-old son Alfie. At first Thomas Cook refused to provide compensation, instead demanding further evidence of Mrs Hall’s sickness
Thomas Cook eventually offered Mrs Hall £3,000 after being contacted by the Daily Mail
‘I wasn’t drinking much alcohol at all, just lemonade and water.
‘My wedding was ruined and instead of being a joyful bride, I was locked in my hotel bathroom unable to see my husband.
‘My dream wedding turned out to be a nightmare.’
Thomas Cook said: ‘We want our customers to have the best possible experience with us on holiday and are sorry to hear that Mrs Hall became ill while in the resort.
‘We are investigating thoroughly and are in contact with Mrs Hall to try and put things right.’