A MONMOUTH mum of five is one of thousands caught up in the aftermath of the collapse of holiday firm Thomas Cook.

Chris and her husband had booked a week’s inclusive holiday in the luxury Hotel Beatriz Costa and Spa in Costa Teguise, Lanzarote as a dual celebration of her 49th birthday in November and their 27th wedding anniversary in February and had been paying by monthly instalments.

“We were really looking forward to it,” said Chris. “My sister had read that Thomas Cook were in trouble and kept warning us to keep an eye on things. We’d been paying £230 a month since we booked last year and had just three months to go.”

"I decided to cancel the direct debits a week before it became official.

"The next thing was we got an email from Thomas Cook, after it was announced they’d gone bust, pointing out that our direct debits had been cancelled.

"I thought that was a bit cheeky!

"I immediately went to my bank and was told I’d done the right thing but would need to get a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) refund claim form.

"I’ve had to print out all the paperwork like bank statements, confirmation emails etc - about 50 sheets in total - and I’m hopeless with computers!"

Chris and her family have taken Thomas Cook package holidays in Spain and the Canary Islands on around 15 occasions.

"We particularly love Lanzarote - it’s tranquil and beautiful," she said.

For Chris, who is a carer for her 80-year-old dad, holidays are few and far between and require a lot of forward planning.

"I’m really upset. It was the first time we’d ever organised a birthday trip like this and only the second time without the kids - with the youngest now 16. There’s no time to book something else.

"We don’t have a lot of money and I’m not confident about getting it back. It all came out of nowhere.

"I’m very dubious about booking to go abroad again.

"We’ve taken holidays with Thomas Cook since the kids were tiny. The packages cost more than with some firms but we were always confident about leaving the arrangements to them. The holidays were all fabulous and their staff were brilliant.

"I couldn’t believe this would happen. They’ve been such a trusted company. It’s quite shocking - and sad."

Thomas Cook’s collapse triggered the biggest ever peacetime repatriation, aimed at bringing more than 150,000 British holidaymakers home. Some 800,000 more had future bookings and the company had 9,000 UK staff.

The CAA says all refunds should be processed within two months.