Shamed: Rochelle Noon winning her beauty queen title in 2011
As a former Miss United Kingdom, Rachelle Noon is well used to revelling in the spotlight.
But last week, she came under its glare for a far less glamorous reason – after a court ruled she had tried to cheat her way to compensation by faking sickness on holiday.
The 28-year-old model was ordered to pay thousands of pounds to tour operator Thomas Cook after a judge ruled her ‘dishonest’.
She and her partner Karl, 31, had claimed food at their hotel in Protaras, Cyprus, made them so ill they were virtually unable to leave their room.
Yet photographs posted online showed the couple laughing and smiling aboard a ‘party bus’ on their way to her cousin’s wedding on the sunshine island.
At Liverpool County Court, District Judge Jenkinson said she had been acting like a ‘party animal’, despite her claims of suffering debilitating illness.
Mrs Noon, who was crowned Miss United Kingdom Supranational in 2011, alleged that food in her hotel gave her stomach cramps, nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting lasting three days.
But Thomas Cook uncovered the photographs on Facebook. Mrs Noon’s mother, Denise Perez, had uploaded them with the caption ‘Party bus’, adding: ‘Had the most amazing time with all the family. Love this lifestyle.’
In one image, Mrs Noon, who was pregnant at the time, is wearing a tight white outfit exposing her midriff and hanging out of the open-top bus with two thumbs in the air.
The judge at Liverpool County Court dismissed the couple’s £4,000 claim and ruled they had been guilty of ‘fundamental dishonesty’ – ordering them to pay Thomas Cook’s £2,278 legal costs.
District Judge Jenkinson questioned why the couple, from Liverpool, would board a bus without toilet facilities while suffering diarrhoea. Mrs Noon said she was putting on a ‘brave face’ for the camera, but the judge pointed out she is the only one in the images behaving like a ‘party animal.’
Mr Noon, who alleged he had severe symptoms for ten days, claimed he did not drink alcohol at the wedding and just held a glass to be polite. The judge also questioned why, despite being pregnant at the time, Mrs Noon did not seek medical treatment and only made a claim for compensation months later.
They lodged their claim nine months after their week-long holiday at the Anastasia Beach Hotel in June 2015, after seeing an advert for a ‘no-win, no-fee’ lawyers.
Incriminating: One of the photographs that exposed Noon’s lie
The Mail on Sunday has previously exposed the 434 per cent increase in British holidaymakers making compensation claims for sickness.
This is not the first time social media has been used against an alleged holiday bug fraudster. We previously revealed how Sean and Caroline Bondarenko, from Darlington, are being sued for allegedly making a bogus £10,000 claim over ‘dodgy food’ after they wrote on Facebook what a wonderful time they had at the hotel in Crete. Until recently Thomas Cook had simply paid out on compensation claims as it was cheaper than going to court – but the volume of claims has prompted it to strike back.
A spokesman for the operator said: ‘It’s clear that the courts are now well aware of the level of dishonesty there is in the holiday illness claims. We will defend ourselves, in court if necessary, from holidaymakers who try to cheat the system.’
Mrs Noon declined to comment last night.