A father alleges that his family's dream holiday was ruined by a bed bug infestation. Paul Yates recounts suffering over 300 bites during their 14-day stay at Hotel Riu Touareg in Cape Verde.

The 51 year old also had to seek medical attention after some of the bites became infected. Paul, his wife Louise, and their 11 year old son Spencer were on an all-inclusive holiday that cost them £3,600.

Speaking to NeedToKnow, the Sheffield resident said: "The holiday was completely ruined," He added: "I came home with about 300 bites.

"On the second day, I woke up with about 30 bites on my right arm.

"They were incredibly itchy and unpleasant. Some of them have scarred.

"We complained and asked them to spray the room because we thought it was mosquitos.

"They offered us a different room. But we didn't want to spend time out of the holiday packing and unpacking and at the time we had no reason to believe they were bed bugs.

"Every morning I woke up with new bites on my neck, shoulders, back, head and arms. I was being bitten on my boney parts which made me think it wasn't a mosquito."

He ended up paying £50 for a doctor's appointment and another £50 for antibiotics to treat the infected bites, which prevented him from sunbathing or consuming alcohol. Reflecting on the ordeal, Paul said: "I felt quite low.

"It caused arguments because Spencer wanted to go in the pool but I had to stay in the room.

"We'd been really looking forward to the holiday and it was totally ruined.

"The bites were the focus of the whole trip."

The couple alleges that Louise discovered 100 bites on her right arm on the second last morning of their trip. They also claim to have found a live bed bug crawling across their sheets.

Paul and Louise say they captured the insect in a glass and presented it to the hotel staff, who apologised and suggested they change rooms.

The two-week trip to Cape Verde, booked through Tui, began on 29 March. Following the incident, Paul says they lodged a complaint with the travel company and were offered a mere 10% refund, which he described as "insulting".

He stated: "On the second to last day, Louise woke up with around 100 bites.

"We pulled back the sheets and found skeletons of bed bugs and a live bed bug.

"We took the bed bug down to reception and made a formal complaint with the Tui rep.

"The rep advised not to accept the 10% and fight it in the UK because we'd get more."

According to the couple, the hotel offered to launder their clothes at 60 degrees to exterminate the bugs. However, they claim that when their clothes were returned, items worth £350 had been ruined, including Spencer's favourite football shirt.

Paul alleged: "They sent our clothes away to be washed at 60 degrees so we didn't bring the bed bugs home with us.

"Most of them came back either discoloured or had shrunk.

"We bought Spencer a personalised Sheffield Wednesday top and I had a similar one. We wore them to Wembley and they're ruined.

"The football shirts were about £170 altogether."

And regarding the offer of a 10% refund, Paul expressed his dismay, saying he felt "insulted".

"They said they couldn't do anything else without a medical report. I didn't get one when I went to the doctor because all I was worried about was getting better..

"10% doesn't even cover the costs we incurred for the doctor," he complained.

Paul and Louise initially chose the hotel because of their wonderful experience 14 years prior.

Paul mentioned, "It was a really nice location. We went the first year the hotel opened and it was lovely so we didn't do as much research this time.

"I've just left a job that was really stressful and we haven't been able to have a real family holiday together for three years.

"As soon as I left the job, Louise booked the holiday."

He described his anticipation for the trip, saying, "It was going to be the first holiday where I didn't have to respond to emails and we could just relax and spend time together."

TUI and Riu have been approached for comment.