Michael Fresco paid more than £4,000 for a holiday and when he turned up at the airport he was told the tickets were fakes.

A grandfather who paid more than £4,000 to take his daughter and two grandsons on holiday, arrived at the airport in the early hours of the morning to find there was “no record” of his booking.

Michael Fresco, 66, of Chigwell, was set to fly off to Majorca last week after paying £4,533 for the family holiday with Felton Travel, State Parade, High Street, Barkingside, in July.

It was at Gatwick Airport at 4.30am that the party-of-four were told there was no such booking with the airline or hotel.

Disappointment

He said: “I thought something wasn’t quite right last week when the tickets had the wrong date and name on them and we had no voucher for the car parking and hire car that I had also pre-booked.

“When I went into the shop they said there had just been an error and corrected the tickets.”

The shop has been closed since the evening of August 24 and it is believed the company has gone into liquidation.

Mr Fresco added: “How do you explain to a four- and six-year-old that they can’t go on holiday? I was gutted for them.”

He wants to warn others to check their booking with the airline and hotel before heading to the airport.

Howard Johnston, 52, of Herent Drive, Clayhall, who paid £1,500 for a holiday to Bulgaria, also faced the same problem.

He said: “When I tried to check-in I was told there was no record of my wife and I on the flight. Some people can afford to rebook later in the year but this was our summer holiday and we can’t go at any other time.

“I have had about 25 people phone me who said the same has happened to them.”

A spokesman for Felton Travel said: “The company ceased trading on August 28. Anyone that has booked using a credit/debit card is able to charge back any monies if goods are not supplied.

“Nobody should lose any money, but they may not be able to take their holiday. In the meantime bookings are being worked through to see if they can be honoured.”