A horrified family packed up and left a holiday park in the middle of the night after discovering bugs crawling on their bedding.
Catherine Allen had booked a five-night stay at Parkdean Resorts in St Margaret’s Bay, near Dover, with her husband and four children.
But what they had hoped would be an enjoyable break on the Kent coast turned into a nightmare when they found the insects under their duvet and even on their baby boy’s pillow.
The family quickly changed into fresh clothes before driving to a nearby Travelodge. They had to leave the rest of their belongings behind to be bagged up – in case bed bugs had already burrowed inside.
Parkdean bosses have apologised for the ordeal. The company has provided a full refund, covered the cost of the hotel and called in specialist contractors to “treat the issue”.
But Mrs Allen told KentOnline they were “treated with no care, no concern”.
The family, from Eastbourne, had arrived at the caravan park – described by Parkdean as “a relaxing historic haven on the cusp of the White Cliffs of Dover” – on Monday, June 23.
That evening, Mrs Allen’s husband Tom returned from a trip to the shops and found bugs in one of the children’s rooms before pulling back the duvet on their own bed and spotting more.
“He came into our room and found them crawling over the pillow – the little baby nest – where our three-month-old sleeps,” said the 35-year-old.
The family tried to report the issue to the reception but found it closed. They contacted security, who visited the caravan and filmed one of the insects.
Mrs Allen claims the on-call manager, when contacted, said the bug “looked like it was moving too fast to be a bed bug”.
“At that point we didn’t care what kind of bug it was,” she added. “There were bugs in the bed where our baby was sleeping. That was all that mattered.”
The family say they were given three options – to stay, go home or find a hotel themselves.
Mrs Allen claims they were told they could not be moved to another caravan or on-site hotel room due to the risk of spreading the bugs.
“Yet they were happy for us to potentially take them to a Travelodge instead,” she added.
She says returning home – a two-hour drive – was not practical with four children in the middle of the night. They decided to leave the park and check into a Travelodge in Sandwich at about 2.30am.
“We stripped the kids in the dark, grabbed one item of clothing each and left everything else behind,” she said.
“We took formula, nappies and bottles – that’s it.”
Her father-in-law came to assist, bringing ziploc bags and sellotape so they could catch and contain some of the bugs.
The next morning, the family returned to the park to speak with a manager.
According to Mrs Allen, she was told a staff member had inspected the caravan and “couldn’t see anything”.
“She didn’t apologise or show any concern about what we’d been through,” she added.
Mrs Allen says she presented a captured insect and showed video footage taken inside the caravan.
After seeing the evidence, the park then agreed to refund the cost of their stay and cover the Travelodge bill.
A spokesperson for St Margaret’s Bay Holiday Park said: “We’re sorry for Ms Allen’s experience.
“This was an isolated incident, and we have provided her with a full refund and covered the cost of her hotel stay.
“We arranged for her belongings to be treated and immediately organised for our specialist contractors to visit the accommodation, and they have treated the issue.”
The family left behind all their belongings, including baby equipment and clothing packed for a two-week trip.
They were asked to list and photograph every item so it could be bagged up and treated by pest control.
She said the items were returned five weeks later, following heat treatment.
“I contacted the pest control company myself to confirm everything had been properly treated,” she said.
“Especially with a baby in the house, I wanted to be sure.”
She says her family has been left significantly out of pocket.
“We had to replace clothes for six people during a heatwave as we were going straight to Norfolk for another holiday,” she said.
“We’ve spent over £1,000 and haven’t even replaced everything yet.
“We lost a week of our holiday. My husband only gets two weeks off a year.”
According to Mrs Allen, attempts to escalate her complaint were unsuccessful.
She believes the situation was poorly handled and more should have been done.
“We were treated with no care, no concern,” she added.
“I just don’t want any other family to have to go through the same experience.”
