A family has said their dream holiday to Disneyland Paris has been tainted after being told their five-year-old son must sit alone next to strangers on their journey to the theme park.

Sam Potts and husband Adam planned to take their son Ashton to Disneyland via Eurostar on Wednesday, August 29.

But what was supposed to be the holiday of a lifetime has already turned sour after the family, of Knights Road in Hoo, was told they must all sit separately for the two-hour-long journey.

Mrs Potts said: "I can't have my five-year-old sat next to strangers – he needs to be sat with either myself or my husband."

"Surely they can see that we're a family with a young child.

"If Ashton was 10 or 11 it would be different, but he's only five."

Mrs Potts said she booked the trip through travel agent TUI in Chatham in February and only recently discovered the family had been allocated separate seats.

She was told by Eurostar that if she had booked with them directly, she could have chosen her seats.

She claims that when she asked Eurostar for a refund on Ashton's ticket so he could sit on her lap, the rail firm told her children over the age of four must sit in their own seats.

Now, the company has advised the family to arrive 60 minutes early on the date of their journey, so they can speak to a manager about switching seats.

Mrs Potts said: "Ashton loves Disney, so at Easter we did a treasure hunt and at the end of the treasure hunt we told him he's going to Disneyland.

"Since then we've got a Disney park map and we've been going over it, looking up all the rides, even looking at the rides on Youtube, so he knows what's there.

"So now having to tell him he can't sit with mummy or daddy and he has to sit with some strangers is horrible.

"He's quite upset about it.

"I asked Eurostar if I could move just one of us and I've been told no, as the train is full."

Eurostar said: "We fully understand Mrs Potts' concern and we are working hard to find a solution to enable the family to sit together.

"We can see that Mrs Potts made her booking through an agency rather than direct with us, and it’s unfortunate that the agent didn’t ensure the seats were reserved together at the time the booking was made in March.

"With just a week to go before travel, the train is now full, so unfortunately we are unable to simply re-allocate other seats on the same train.

"We will be in touch with Mrs Potts today to discuss an alternative arrangement."

A TUI spokesman said: "We are really sorry to hear about the Potts family's experience ahead of their holiday.

"We do not allocate the seats when a booking is made instore but we understand how special a trip to Disneyland is and we are working closely with our partners to try and resolve the matter so the family can be sat together on their journey."