PEOPLE who booked holidays with crashed tour company Travelscope should get their money back in full.

About 40,000 holidaymakers, many from Kent, were affected when the business went into administration on Friday (Dec 21). Some had Christmas and New Year holiday plans wrecked.

Joint administrator Paul Clark said the company was bonded with the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and the Civil Aviation Authority through the Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (ATOL) system.

Claim forms were being sent out by those organisations as quickly as possible, he said, and customers should get full refunds.

Passengers already on board Travelscope's cruise ship, MV Van Gogh, were allowed to continue with their holidays and the liner will be allowed to embark on a world cruise early in the New Year because the costs are covered by the ABTA financial protection scheme.

Travelscope is one of the travel operators that provides holidays for Headline Travel, the KM Group's reader offer travel service.

Karen Knott, of Headline Travel,said: "This is a terrible thing to happen - holidays are so important to people - but we are doing our best to assist our customers.

"Although ABTA and ATOL are dealing with refunds we are trying to help people find alternative holidays so they can keep their holiday dreams alive."

She added: "Only holidays booked through Travelscope are affected. Holidays booked with our other operators will continue as normal."

The Joint Administrators are Paul Clark, Andrew Stoneman and Phil Duffy of Menzies Corporate Restructuring. Talks were being held with other firms interested in taking over the Travelscope business.

The Gloucester-based travel company dealt primarily in cruises and coach trips. The company traded as TSI; Just Friends; Ocean Cruise Collection; Reader Holidays; Reader Travel; River Cruise Collection; Study the World; Travelscope; Travelscope Air Holidays; Travelscope for Groups; Travelscope Holidays; Travelscope Promotions; Travelscope Schools; Travelscope Sports; and TSI Business to Business.

If you have a holiday booked with Travelscope contact abtaclaims@cegagroup.com or www.caa.co.uk

Emergency numbers for Travelscope are 08444 129 999 and 0870 770 3999.