A mum was terrified after waking up to find an intruder trying to break into her family's hotel room.
Leanne and Dean Louis and their four children had been looking forward to their first ever holiday abroad with a week of all-inclusive fun at the TUI-run Aqua Mirage Hotel in Marrakech. But their excitement turned to terror when Leanne said she woke up on the night of May 19 to see the shadowy figure of a man inside their hotel room, Lancs Live reports.
She said: "It was like in Scream when you see the black shadow go past. It was terrifying."
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When Dean got up to investigate, the man reportedly leapt from his hiding place and ran out of the front door. Leanne said she then banged on the wall until her knuckles bled to alert two of her children, who were sleeping in the room next door with a family friend.
The family had spent the day within the hotel complex and before going to sleep, Leanne said she made sure all the doors and windows were locked. On the first day, she said the patio door had no handle but could be prised open, while it was fully locked the second day and by the next, a new handle had been fitted while they were outside the room.
Leanne, from Lancaster, 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, the couple noticed the family's swimwear, which had been laid out to dry, had been knocked to the floor and the safe had been opened. They said their son's Nintendo Switch had also been moved outside of the room.
Leanne claimed the hotel's security refused to believe what had happened. She said they showed where the bushes outside their room had been trampled, but security still didn't offer to help.
And while the reception staff assured them security would monitor their room, Leanne claims she never saw them again.
A TUI spokesperson said police were notified of the incident by the hotel and the family were supported by their TUI rep throughout the rest of their stay. Leanne said the family were left terrified by the incident, and her children, aged eight to 13, did not sleep properly for the rest of the holiday.
Leanne added: "We were all traumatised. 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 had backed up their story and that the matter had been referred to the local police.
A spokesperson for TUI said: "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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