A travel firm has apologised to a couple from Maidstone who say staff threatened them with debt collectors when they asked to postpone their holiday.

Leah Maybourne and Ben Johnson from South Park Road booked a week in Turkey through TUI months before the pandemic hit, in January.

They were due to fly to Belek in the province of Antalya on September 21 and stay in TUI's Magic Life Masmavi five star resort.

But health fears over coronavirus meant the pair no longer felt safe travelling and tried to postpone.

Mr Johnson, a 62-year-old lorry driver, is in a vulnerable group as he suffers from asthma.

They went into the branch in Week Street to move the dates where they claim staff threatened to send the bailiff unless they paid the cancellation fees.

The incident caused the couple so much stress they feared a court order coming through their door.

After the ordeal, TUI wrote to them saying the planned £1,700 cancellation fee has since been overridden.

It means the couple will not be pursued for the full price of the holiday they feared going on.

Miss Maybourne, 42, said: "After all the stress it has caused, to know it has been cancelled is such a relief.

"Unfortunately we haven't got the £100 deposit back but at least they have cancelled the rest."

TUI has also pledged an investigation into the alleged incident.

While the Foreign Commonwealth Office is advising against all but essential travel, their holiday was still due to go ahead as Turkey is on the exempt list.

This means people can visit without having to quarantine on return.

Turkey has seen 22,457 cases in the last fortnight and 6,895 deaths according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

At the moment all arrivals have to undergo a medical evaluation for symptoms of coronavirus, including a temperature check.

It is also compulsory to wear a face mask in all public areas.

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