A mum who arrived at Pontins after a six-hour drive to be told the accommodation she booked was not available says the manager she spoke to was 'like a bulldog' and 'in her face' - and that his spit hit her face as they spoke. Lynsey Halliday had travelled for six hours to get to Brean Sands Pontins in Burnham-on-Sea with her family.
But Lynsey says that after arriving at the holiday park the family was told the eight berth cabin they had booked was not in use. She was asked to move to two smaller cabins, but both Lynsey and her mum have disabilities. Lyndsey has had chronic juvenile arthritis since the age of 14 and had major surgery to replace her knee in January - but Pontins asked her to sleep on a fold-out sofabed.
Lynsey told The Echo : "I explained that I was disabled and my mum was disabled and was there nothing else they could offer us maybe something with two bedrooms. She went and spoke to her manager and came out and said 'my manager said you either take this or just go home'. I said 'pardon' I could not believe that she even suggested that.
"No apology no nothing. I asked her to go and get the manager because I didn't want him passing message between us.
"She went in and started crying and the manager came out like a bulldog right into my face and said 'you've just made that girl cry'. I explained that I was sorry if she is upset but I just asked for the manager.
"He was so close to my face that when he spoke I could feel his spit on my face and it was really intimidating. I said 'we have driven all this way and you're telling us you either take this or go home'."
Lynsey said the manager walked away from her and came back with a security guard where she was told her whole family was being 'evicted'. Lynsey said: "When you book a holiday you expect everything to be right. It was a childhood holiday we had always been on.
"My son has struggled the most because his dad is not around he is very protective of me. He started trying to lash out and my mum had to hold his arms down.
"I had to take him out because he was just in a state. He was sat there clenching his firsts, shaking and bawling his eyes out. When my brother and I were kids we grew up going there for two weeks at a time and now we wanted our kids to experience what we experienced but they will not be able to."
The family are trying to make the best of their holiday and Lynsey said she had "cried all night" after leaving Pontins. She said they have stayed in two different hotels since Monday costing them £424 in addition to the £240 they forked out for their original rooms.
She said: "After this, I would never book there again. Never".
Pontins owner Britannia Hotels have been approached for a comment but is yet to respond.
