The families, who paid up to £5,000 for their breaks, are blaming food, including undercooked kebabs, and hygiene failings at the four-star Mukarnas Resort Spa, in Turkey, for their 2022 holidays being ruined by sickness and diarrhoea.

Almost a hundred British holidaymakers, including dozens of children, who all stayed at the resort in the Antalya area between May and September 2022, are suing travel agent Jet2, at the High Court in London, with some claiming they are still suffering the effects of the illness three years later.

However, Jet2Holidays Ltd denies liability and says it was not to blame for the holidaymakers' sickness the source of which they claim came from outside the resort.

It also denies the food and hygiene allegations and claims the resort took all reasonable steps to contain the outbreak.

On its website, the 1,100-bed Mukarnas Spa Resort says it "welcomes its guests on the shores of the Mediterranean," adding that, "inspired by the magnificent Seljuk architecture and built in a style that combines it with modern touches, Mukarnas Spa Resort offers a high level of comfort for your unforgettable family holidays."

"A colourful holiday with its stunning beach and moments full of new discoveries await you in the Mediterranean which fascinates with its air, climate and deep blue sea," the website states.

But in documents lodged at the High Court, Sarah Prager KC, for the holidaymakers, paints a different picture, claiming 99 British tourists fell ill during the 2022 season due to food safety and hygiene issues amidst a pre-existing food poisoning outbreak.

"At the time of the claimants’ holidays, and unbeknown to them - but as the defendant knew or ought to have known - there was an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness at the said hotel," she says.

"Within days or weeks of their arrival in resort, the claimants fell ill with gastrointestinal symptoms, namely some or all of: headache, fatigue, lethargy, abdominal cramps, bloating, nausea, fever, diarrhoea, vomiting, and faecal incontinence.

"A minority of the claimants had eaten outside the hotel prior to falling ill. However, the outbreak of illness at the hotel indicates that it is more likely than not that it was the source of the claimants’ illness.

"The defendant knew or ought to have known of the said outbreak, and ought to have notified the claimants of the same, providing them with an opportunity to cancel the holidays and obtain a refund in relation to the costs of the same.

"The defendant did not do so."

As well as the bug going round, the barrister claimed that the resort "provided the claimants with food and/or drinks containing pathogens" and had poor food safety, including a mouldy kitchen, allowing ice cream "to defrost and refreeze" and "undercooked chicken and koftas".

She also says that, faced with dozens of ill guests, the resort "failed to devise or implement a faecal accident policy in relation to the swimming pool or other public areas of the hotel," adding:

"On one occasion, a claimant witnessed a lifeguard removing faeces from the pool with his bare hands and putting it in a bin without closing the pool.

"On a number of occasions, claimants witnessed children being sick in and around the pool area and members of staff sweeping the vomit into the drain or pool, also without closing the pool."

The 99 holidaymakers are claiming a total of up to £500,000 compensation between them, the court papers say.

Their solicitor, Jatinder Paul, of Irwin Mitchell, said of the claim: “Gastric illness can be very serious and should never been downplayed. It can lead to life-changing health issues and even death.

“Nearly three years on, a number of our clients continue to be affected by debilitating complications linked to their illness."

In an outside court statement, one of the claimants, builder John Asquith, from Wakefield, said: “We’d been looking forward to our holiday for a long time, but around a week in most of us were floored with illness. It was horrible, especially having to see our children so unwell."

He had holidayed at the Mukarnas Resort with his wife, four kids and in-laws between 30 August and 9 September 2022, with the family paying over £5,000 for their 10-night luxury stay.

He and all four of his kids fell ill with diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting - and on the family’s return home to the UK, one of his daughters was taken to hospital and diagnosed with salmonella.

Nurse, Marie Brereton, 55, from Derby, who holidayed at the Mukarnas Resort between 29 May and 5 June 2022 with her husband and son Ben, now 18, said: “We managed to enjoy the first couple of days of our holiday but it didn’t last long, with Ben and I falling sick really quickly.

“At first I thought it was maybe just adjusting to a change of food, but I was wrong."

The defence of Jet2Holidays Ltd to the action was not available from the court at the time of writing but lawyers for the holidaymakers said:

"It is Jet 2’s position that the illnesses were viral and caused by an outside source not linked to the hotel and unconnected to the services supplied by the Hotel.

"Prior to there being reports of illness during the relevant period of our clients’ holidays, the tour operator says that the hotel had a strategic plan in place to deal with the outbreak.

"They say that once illness was reported, the hotel triggered its outbreak plan to contain illness and they say that the hotel took all reasonable steps before and during the outbreak."

Jet2 also denies all the other allegations including the claimed food safety and hygiene breaches at the resort.