A family's first foreign holiday left them terrified after an intruder broke into their hotel room during the night.
Leanne and Dean Louis were staying at the Aqua Mirage Hotel in Marrakech with their four children, a holiday that initially went to plan with the kids enjoying the nearby waterpark at the TUI resort.
However, the family's fortunes took a turn for the worst when Leanne was woken during the night and saw the shadow of a man inside their hotel room. When Dean got up, a man leapt from his hiding spot and ran out the front door.
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Leanne, from Lancaster, was so terrified she started banging her fist on the wall to alert her children and a family friend. Her terror was so severe that her knuckles were bleeding after banging the wall so hard.
As LancsLive reports, the scarred family were unable to sleep or enjoy the rest of their holiday.
Leanne, who runs a sweets business in Lancaster, said: "It was like in Scream when you see the black shadow go past. It was terrifying."
The family had made sure all windows and doors were locked before going to sleep that night, with Leanne adding that the patio door had no handle but could be prised open.
She said: "I fell asleep and then 10-20 minutes later I was like 'what the hell?'. At first I didn't know if I was dreaming and then I noticed the curtain and the door was wide open and said to Dean 'you need to wake up'." Dean's jumped out of bed, I could see there was a black shape and when Dean moved, they've gone to the front door and ran out."
When the commotion was over, Leanne and Dean noticed their swimwear had been knocked to the floor while it was laid out to dry and the safe had been opened, although luckily the family had not used it.
Their son's Nintendo Switch had also been moved outside of the room. According to Leanne, hotel security refused to believe their story and even showed them the bushes outside their room that had been trampled but they refused to help.
Reception staff informed Leanne security would monitor their room through the rest of the night but she never saw them again.
"We were all traumatised," she said. "It ruined the whole holiday because we didn't want to do anything, we were just so traumatised and tired with it all.
"They tried to say it was someone from the outside but if you're security's as good as you say, and it is good with massive metal gates, how was somebody getting in?"
The family spoke with a TUI rep the following morning who took a statement. On their last day, the family say they were told the CCTV backed up what they said and that the matter had been referred to the local police.
Leanne and Dean hope to take the kids away again to make up for the sorry experience but they do not plan to return to Morocco. "In the hotel, we felt like we were in a normal place with good nightlife bit as soon as you step outside the complex, it was like a warzone.
"It was my family's first holiday, they'd never been abroad before. It was a holiday from hell."
A spokesperson for TUI told LancsLive: "We are aware of an incident which took place on 19th May involving an intruder at the Aqua Mirage in Marrakech and we are sorry to hear of impact this had on Mr and Mrs Louis and their children.
"Police were notified by the hotel and the family involved were supported by their TUI rep throughout the rest of their stay. They have since been offered ongoing counselling with CCP (Centre for Crisis Psychology).
"The safety of our customers is always our number one priority and we would like to assure customers that instances of this nature are extremely rare. The matter is now with the local police and we hope that a resolution will soon be reached."
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