Episode 2 Holiday Hit Squad

Millions of you are flicking through those holiday brochures

getting rid of the winter blues by deciding exactly where you want

to spend your two weeks in the sun.

We all invest our trust in the holiday industry

-hoping it delivers on its promise.

-But things can go wrong.

There are accidents and incidents that you just can't predict,

and when that happens, a dream holiday can end in disaster.

We looked out, there were bodies everywhere.

It was just a complete construction site going on next door.

Everything that was on the back seat had gone.

We are the Holiday Hit Squad.

Our mission, simply, is to ensure you get the best holiday possible

and we're going to show you some of the things to watch out for.

We'll be digging up the dirt at some of the dodgiest hotels.

An awful smell coming up. That's strong, isn't it?

And getting them to clean up their act.

There are cockroaches in the hotel.

We are travelling the world to some of the most popular destinations

for Brits with exclusive insight into some harsh holiday hazards.

I thought, she's going to drown.

I'm making dreams come true

for some unlucky victims of holidays from hell.

There were workers outside, trucks going past.

I felt a bit deceived, to be honest.

Coming up on the programme...

I travel to Florida, home of Disney World,

and I find my hotel has its own resident mouse.

My God, a dead mouse.

I find out just how damaging that healthy-looking tan can be.

We can see evidence of chronic sun exposure

and that does mean you are at increased risk of cancer.

We hear from a family who were turned into human fireballs

on holiday in Turkey.

Flames rushed out of this bottle straight into Kirsty's face.

Set her head on fire, burnt all your hair off.

Every year, we spend around £1.6 billion on hotel accommodation,

but what are we actually getting for our money?

No matter how fabulous the hotel may look from its photographs,

there's no way of knowing if it will live up to expectations

until you actually get there, as Joe is about to find out.

A whopping 78% of Brits consider a hotel stay

to be more of a treat than they did five years ago.

So if anything is to ruin a holiday,

no-one wants it to be the place they forked out to stay in.

I'll be getting the worst hotel offenders inspected

for the sake of all holidaymakers trying to put things right.

MUSIC: "Holiday" by Madonna

MUSIC: "Miami" by Will Smith

Florida - the number one British holiday spot in the US

and here in Miami,

we just love to soak up the sun on white sandy beaches.

With its trendy Art Deco hotels and glamorous lifestyle,

South Beach is the place to be seen, so staying here can be pricey.

But bang in the middle of the action

on Ocean Drive and overlooking the Atlantic,

the £56 a night three-star Cavalier Hotel

boasts that it's the best value in the area.

I've just arrived in Florida

and I had to check in at the Cavalier Hotel.

It looks really nice from the outside.

Great location in the middle of Miami Beach, but the reviews online

have been absolutely terrible. Can it really be that bad?

The Cavalier has been described by guests as "disgusting,"

"infested with bed bugs"

and "the worst place I've ever been to."

But after a long international flight,

I just want to get my head down.

Right. This is my double room.

Well, it seems OK at first glance, but we'll see.

We'll see if there are any bedbugs here, I guess,

when I put my head down on that pillow.

The full extent of horror in this hotel is only revealed

in the clear light of the following day.

It's only when you're better rested you get a proper appreciation

of what it's actually like. First of all, the bed.

-Good news.

-No bed bugs. At least I haven't seen any,

haven't felt any so I'm very relieved about that.

The bad news is the whole room just doesn't seem to be clean.

There's a little clump of human hair on the sofa.

It just hasn't been given a thorough once-over

and, if you come into the bathroom, this is horrible.

That right there in the corner - that is a used plaster

and it's definitely not mine. That's disgusting.

As the Americans would say, "That is totally not OK."

So that's very grim and just another indication of how long it's been

since this room was properly cleaned last time.

Under the bed, lots of dust, lots of grime,

but what really stands out is this.

The dusty used sock that someone's left behind. Ugh.

That really isn't good enough. This place needs a proper clean.

I think this is a hotel which really needs help

so I'm calling in the reinforcements.

Dr Lisa Ackerley has been a health and safety inspector for over 20 years.

-How's it going?

-Good, thanks.

Good to see you. Welcome to Miami Beach.

We have quite a place for you to look at so shall we get started?

-OK.

-I'll take that if you want.

When it comes to hygiene and guest safety, she demands the very best.

When I walk into a hotel room, I expect to have a feel-good factor.

I expect it to feel and smell clean and then when I start looking,

I expect to have no dirt on the floor.

When I take my shoes off, I actually want to step on to a clean floor

and not pick up bits of dirt.

As soon as that happens, I start to get worried

and then I don't feel comfortable in the bedroom.

Look at this dirt coming up here. It's just unbelievable.

Lisa's barely inside the door

and already her antennae are twitching.

Your first impressions, you've noticed the grime then?

I wouldn't be taking my shoes off just at this point.

It's just horrible and look at this. It's thick.

When do you think this was last hoovered?

Two weeks ago probably at least. It's disgusting.

With the hallways this filthy,

I dread to think what Lisa's going to find in the bedrooms.

OK, now this is very similar to the room I stayed in last night.

It's pretty typical. Mine wasn't that clean.

Do you think this is cleaner?

I'll be interested to see what you make of this.

It might not seem the most obvious place to start,

but Lisa's expert eye has spotted the TV remote control.

I'll just turn it over here and I won't swab where I've touched.

A recent study found that these handheld gadgets carry more bacteria

than even the toilet bowl.

What sort of things might you pick up on a remote like this?

Really anything that the previous users have had on their hands.

If they've been to the loo and haven't washed their hands

and they were carrying some sort of pathogens like E. coli, salmonella,

then those could be transferred onto the remote control.

I suppose when you check into a hotel room,

you don't know if the person who was in there before you was ill.

If they were, you hope the cleaning process just wipes everything away

and it's a clean slate.

Luckily, Lisa's hand luggage contains a bug detector

so we'll soon know what the previous guest has left behind for us.

A reading of anything above 100 will be a serious concern.

Oh! 131.

That's quite a shock, isn't it?

With such a high reading, there is some serious contamination here.

Active germs can live on TV remotes for at least 24 hours

and can pass on a cold with as little as one press of a button.

-So, what about the bed itself?

-Right.

After complaints aplenty on TripAdvisor

about what's between the sheets here, I wonder what we might find.

Look, there's a big hair there in the middle of the bed.

That's not very nice, is it?

You don't want to be getting into this bed

and wondering about who was in before you, do you?

It's what you can't see that worries Lisa the most.

I have brought a kit with me to see if we've got dust mites here

and basically their excrement contains a protein

which can cause an allergy in some individuals.

Also, it can make people with asthma have attacks as well.

Lisa's bag of tricks also contains a dust mite collector.

A single dust mite is barely half a millimetre in size.

A standard mattress can house up to 10 million of the little critters.

When I've done this before,

you've been quite surprised how dirty the membrane actually is.

-Look at that!

-I didn't think we'd see anything, that's amazing!

I had no idea we'd see that much dirt and grime.

-What is it exactly?

-Do we think that's the dust mite poo?

It could be. It could also be some skin.

OK. Which is obviously what they feed on. Amazing.

I have read that sometimes half a pillow's weight

-can be just dust mites.

-Oh...

'To combat dust mites the hotel should be using protective covers

'on the mattresses and regularly washing the bedding

'at a bug-killing 60 degrees.'

This place is filthy. There's no obvious cleaning going on.

The rooms aren't particularly good, no-one's gone under the beds,

all the linen's dirty, or stained, or just old and tatty.

The communal areas are really disgusting,

the corridors, the stairs, even the lobby, no-one's cleaned it.

I haven't seen anyone even trying, last night or at any point today.

They look like they haven't been cleaned in weeks.

This place really has to get its act together.

At the moment, it's not acceptable and, I think, Lisa's probably going to tell them that.

'The Cavalier Hotel is showing a distinctly cavalier

'attitude to hygiene and we have barely scratched the surface.'

That's the reason for the smell and it's been like that

since ten o'clock this morning. It's absolutely disgusting.

I'm heading off to the island of Majorca.

It really is a magnet for those Britons who are in search

of sun, sea and a really good suntan.

But, potentially, there could be problems lurking in paradise

because every day around 70 Brits end up being hospitalised

and at least 10% of them are victims of crime.

Each year 2.5 million of us visit this beautiful Spanish island.

So, not surprisingly, there's a huge infrastructure here,

dedicated to looking after the great British holidaymaker.

I'll be spending time with some of those front-line agencies

to find out exactly what you have to do if you are one

of the 28,000 Brits every year that lose their passports abroad.

Oh...

The quarter of a million that need medical help overseas.

How do you feel about being in hospital overnight now?

Not very happy.

Or, the 2,000 Brits who are arrested in Spain alone.

'If you find yourself abroad and alone, or your sunshine break

'is clouded with calamity, who are you going to call?'

MUSIC: Ghostbusters theme tune

'Expat Liz and her assistant, Charlotte,

'run one of the travel support agencies that are very often

'the first port of call here on Majorca for the tourists who are in trouble.

'In peak season, these companies see, on average, 40 tourists a day

'with cases ranging from lost passports, to serious crimes

'and it's usually non-stop.'

The main sort of things that we get in, well,

all through the season, really, is people wanting to fly home.

That's a big one.

You find with groups of girls that come away together,

they fall out with each other and boys tends to be,

groups of boys, they just can't take any more, can they?

They just go out for three, four nights, drinking, drinking

-and after the fourth or fifth day...

-..don't want to drink any more.

32-year-old Jason is a DJ from Northampton.

It's the second day of his regular lads holiday to Majorca

and already he's become a victim of crime.

Hiya, what's happened?

Erm, I had my gold chain taken in the early hours of this morning.

-Right.

-When we were coming back from the strip.

-Right.

There was probably about seven or eight ladies.

They just put their arms around me and walk along and this, that and the other.

I suppose, another person's whipped it away.

'Jason's going to have to make a statement to the police

'but as he doesn't speak Spanish, he's going to need help.'

That's fine, what we do is, we do a translation service

and we can take you down there now.

Let me give her a call now and see if she's available.

In the meantime, you can go back. I'll call her and see what time she's available.

OK, thank you.

-Is it very valuable?

-About £1,000.

So, it was dear enough.

I'm surprised you've still got a smile on your face!

HE LAUGHS

'This type of crime is becoming much more of a problem

'around the world with holidaymakers falling victim to organised

'female pickpockets, as far afield as Prague and Pattaya.

'Meanwhile, two 18-year-olds from Newcastle arrive looking distressed.

'Emily and Natalie had their hotel room broken into while they were out.

'It's their first holiday away from home

'and they don't know where else to turn.'

OK, tell me what happened?

There was a lock, it was locked

-but it was just... What was it like?

-It was just hung off.

The hinge was off.

There was a comb stuck in the safe.

-They tried to get the safe open?

-Yeah.

-Had they managed to get the safe open?

-No.

-They took one purse and two iPods.

-Right.

I just feel like they're not doing anything about it.

-The hotel?

-Yeah.

It's just like they're not interested.

-How long have you got left?

-Till Saturday.

It's horrible.

There's just stuff been going wrong.

-I don't know. I just...

-Ready to go.

-Yeah.

-Right.

It's just scared me too much.

-It's really frightened you, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

Do you really not want to stay in that hotel tonight?

I just feel in my head that there's no way I can stay there.

You just want to go home?

'Liz tries to get them a flight back to Newcastle, but there's a problem.'

At the moment, because it's the end of the school holidays, and everything,

every single flight seems to be full.

I've never known it like this at all.

I can't even get you to London and then, cos we've done that before.

Go to London and then get trains and coaches up to where you live

but even the London airports...

'The girls can only get home

'if they go around the houses and fly indirectly.

The flight I've brought up for today goes this afternoon,

but then you have to go to Stuttgart, change, wait two hours and 15 minutes,

then go to Heathrow and then from Heathrow to Newcastle.

'Not only will that journey take all day,

'it'll cost the girls hundreds of euros that they just don't have.

'One alternative is to move to a hotel that's further out of town,

'and away from their friends.'

You'll have to get a taxi from here to there,

it's about five minutes in a taxi, but it's just a nice hotel.

You'll be in a room together. It's very small, two English ladies that are on reception

and just really, really nice.

That would be about 30 euros each, a night.

What do you think you're going to do now?

-I really, I don't think I can stay there.

-I couldn't stay there.

I don't think I can, at all.

'Having their room broken into has shaken the girls up

'and not surprisingly, Emily needs the comfort of talking

'on the phone to her mum, who's hundred of miles away.'

When you hear a story like that you really just want to scoop them

up in your arms, give them a big hug and tell them,

everything is all right, because those two girls are not

just in shock, they are really, really frightened.

It's a tough call, really.

They can either fly home at a cost of, what, anything from 600 to 1,000 euros

or change hotels for between 30 and 38 euros a night.

At least they'll be safe, if they move.

'So, how can any of us avoid becoming victims of crime,

like Jason, Emily and Natalie?

'Check that your room has a decent lock

'and make sure that you lock your doors securely behind you.

'Take the emergency numbers of your bank and credit card providers

'with you in case you need to report a loss, or a theft.

'If you really do need to carry large sums of cash,

'then use a money belt or an inside pocket.

'Pickpockets often work in groups, so beware of distraction techniques

'that just might divert your attention from the thief.

'Later, I'll be taking a trip to the police station with Jason

'and discover that he's not the day's only victim of crime.'

I stopped a couple of police in the street, flagged them down

and they had said we've to come to the police station in Palma Nova.

'I'll be getting some top tips for avoiding strife.'

You don't need all that stuff. You don't need a computer at the beach.

'And Natalie and Emily have to decide whether to finish their holiday in Majorca,

'or head home.'

Collectively we make a staggering 700,000 insurance claims annually

and every year the insurance companies pay out more

than £400 million in compensation for our holiday mishaps.

Maybe you lost your luggage, perhaps you had to cancel your holiday.

Maybe you were a victim of crime, or fell sick and ended up in hospital.

In all of those circumstances, it really is comforting to know

that you have the protection of insurance.

Interestingly, one in five of us travel with no insurance at all.

Helen, is on the case.

'It's the thought of jetting off to an exotic

'part of the world for our annual fortnight in the sun

'that keeps most of us going through those long, dreary winter months.'

# In the summertime, when the weather is high

# You can chase right up and touch the sky... #

But for some unfortunate souls their dreams of holiday heaven

can end in anything but.

We couldn't wait to get out of there.

There was a construction site going on next door.

'I'm meeting travellers who through, no fault of their own,

'have experienced the holiday from hell.'

It sounds like you were a bit nervous.

-I suppose we were just a bit apprehensive.

-The heartbeat goes up.

And I'll be doing my level best to give them new, happy holiday memories.

'For Tony and Kirsty Barr from Blackburn, a wedding anniversary

'was the perfect excuse to take the whole family to Marmaris in Turkey.'

'But their dream holiday would become something they'd never forget for all the wrong reasons.

'When the Barrs decided to eat at a local restaurant

'their delight turned to horror, as the waiter attempted to flambe their meal.

'Tony explains what happened.'

We decided to book a really big, fancy, elaborate meal.

We turned up at nine o'clock, we went upstairs to the first-floor balcony. We sat down.

Then fish came.

A massive fish like this with a flame all the way around.

As it arrived, the flame started to go out,

so the waiter grabbed a great big bottle of alcohol and started pouring it around.

This naked flame just lit the alcohol,

shot up into the bottle and the bottle exploded.

Next, we've got a flamethrower on us hands.

The flames rushed out of this bottle, straight into Kirsty's face

-and set her hair on fire and burnt all your hair off.

-Yeah.

Burnt all her chest, all her arms. She was on fire completely.

Then the alcohol went straight into my ear, setting me head on fire.

'And, if all that wasn't horrific enough, there was worse to come.'

The waiter then, this is the most devastating point,

then like moved the bottle away and set my baby on fire in the pram.

I'd seen Rosie on fire, so I got up and went to the pram

to try and get her out and get the flames off her

and I burnt my hand whilst doing it.

She was screaming in agony. It was awful.

-It just happened, all of a sudden, didn't it?

-Yeah. It was fast.

'The family suffered second and third degree burns,

'only daughter, Amy, escaped unscathed.

I remember seeing Tony for the first time

and his skin was like hanging off him, all over.

Off the side of his face, around his ear like that,

there was a big flap of skin hanging down.

It couldn't have been any worse.

I was thinking to myself, like, "Oh my goodness, has this just really happened?"

-We were like that, weren't we?

-It was terrible.

It was like a nightmare, weren't it?

'The family were rushed to a local clinic, but there was a major problem.'

Straight away, insurance, insurance.

I looked at Kirsty and she said, "Oh, I've forgotten to get it."

We were just packing and everything. I just forgot.

We've never been away without insurance before

and it's not something I'd ever skimp on.

'The family were in hospital for over a week,

'presented with a £3,500 medical bill

'and had to pay, again, for their return flights home.'

It's just an absolute sickening feeling

because we were completely insured with everything,

all aspects of our lives, aren't we?

I mean, we've always added travel insurance when we've been away.

You don't know what's around the corner, do you?

You absolutely do not know what is around the corner waiting for you.

The Barr family's story just goes to show that the most unexpected things can occur when you're abroad.

Accidents do happen.

In fact, last year more than a third of all travel insurance

claims were for medical reasons.

'The Barr family may have improved physically

'but the emotional scars are still there.'

My baby is very, very fractious and cries all the time.

She just thinks I'm going to run away.

She doesn't know what's happening. She's been damaged.

Amy's been having terrors, night terrors and she didn't even get burned.

Just to see her stepmum and her father engulfed in flames,

she just constantly cried and is in a terrible state.

Don't ever go on holiday without travel insurance.

Sean Tipton from ABTA knows all too well the importance of travel insurance.

The instance of the Barr family in Turkey just highlights

how incredibly important it is to take out travel insurance.

They ended up paying thousands of pounds out

to cover their medical expenses.

Now, in a way, it could've been a lot worse.

If they needed skin grafts, that thousands of pounds would have run into tens,

if not hundreds of thousands of pounds potentially.

One of the most important things when you're buying insurance is to check the level of medical cover.

As a rule of thumb, even the most basic insurance is better than no insurance at all.

'Coming up, with their confidence in tatters, how will the Barrs cope

'when we take them back to the country where they almost perished?'

We've decided that we weren't going to go abroad again, ever, after that.

More than 250,000 of us make a claim on our travel insurance

for illnesses and injuries that we suffer whilst we're on holiday.

Of course, accidents will happen.

And here in Spain, over a thousand Brits end up in hospital

on their holiday every year,

with a surprising number of injuries happening

within 24 hours of arrival.

# SOS

# Please someone help me... #

Tourists young and old pass through the Spanish medical system

with every possible ailment under the sun.

-Went down on a curb and I just felt it snap.

-It's my eyesight.

I'm in pain.

# Emergency

# Paging Dr Beat... #

With so many of us visiting Majorca every year,

a number of 24-hour walk-in clinics have been established

to deal with our holiday hazards.

This clinic in Majorca can treat up to 45 Brits a day

and has even employed British staff to help unlucky tourists.

Sue is on reception.

When people come aboard, you're coming to something different

so they don't feel in their home territory.

So to hear a voice that hasn't got an accent

or that speaks good English is very reassuring.

The latest patient to arrive is 22-year-old Jolene from Swansea.

She's halfway through a week away with the girls,

but disaster has struck.

I got bitten by a mosquito. I think it's infected.

# Itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny

# Yellow polka-dot bikini... #

It's just grown overnight. I just woke up and it looks like this.

Jolene's teeny-weeny mozzie bite is seen by the doctor.

-This is a very bad reaction. When did it happen?

-Yesterday.

But I woke up today and it's got bigger.

I'll give you a cream and see you again tomorrow. OK?

Thank you.

The doctor's prescribed some cream. I don't think it's infected.

That's one lucky escape for Jolene.

Meanwhile, Sue's next patient is Essex teenager Lauren.

On a girlie holiday, she stepped on a sea urchin.

-How do you feel right now?

-Very, very much in pain. I can't walk.

-Much in pain?

-I can't actually walk properly.

Sea urchins lurk in rocky waters,

burrowing in the sand or coral reefs all over the world.

Most are non-poisonous,

but stepping on one can leave spines buried deep in the skin.

Pretty painful.

And in some cases, leading to shock, infection

and severe allergic reactions.

What is the worst pain?

Round here. I cannot walk on this foot.

So, there's nothing for it but for Lauren to have them taken out.

That hurts a lot.

Another injection should help the pain.

I feel like such a pansy. It's so little, but it's so much pain.

At least she has her best friend Hannah to comfort her.

-She can't swim.

-I can't swim and I'm scared of water.

So don't ask me why I thought it was a good idea to go in the sea.

-A few too many drinks, I think, wasn't it? A few too many drinks.

-A few too many. You're telling me!

The walking wounded just keep on coming.

22-year-old Phil from Hull has injured himself

within an hour of arriving in Spain.

I could tell that I'd hit my chin and then I went to the mirror

-and I could see blood dripping down me.

-It was dripping all down his chest.

He went, "Have I cut my chin?"

He took his hand away and that was it...

Blood all over him.

On his first day of holiday,

Phil ended up face down on the kitchen floor rather than the beach.

Luckily for him, this doctor is an expert in saving people's holidays.

-That looks like it really hurts.

-It doesn't at all.

I can't feel anything. Honestly.

OK. So we begin.

There you are.

Phil will need five stitches to fix his chin.

The weird thing is that I don't know how to stitch clothes.

Faces and bodies, I know.

-Still got a smile on my face.

-What?

-I'm still smiling.

-You're happy?

-I'm really happy.

Why are you so happy?

Cos nothing really bad's happened. You've looked after me.

And that's the end of it. Silly mistake.

But it's one mistake that Phil might regret as he won't be able to go

into the sea for 24 hours.

I want you to come tomorrow to check how it goes.

And if it gets infected, you may need antibiotics.

-Thank you very much.

-You're welcome.

You've been a darling.

-Take these to change, OK, in case you lose breath.

-Cheers.

-OK?

But poor Lauren is not getting away so lightly.

SHE GROANS

MUSIC: "Cruel Summer" by Bananarama

That is what hurt so...?

-That was hurting too much.

-Is it still alive?

-No. It's dead.

Stepping on a sea urchin could leave you

with hundreds of spines embedded in your skin,

but the relief once they've gone is palpable.

# Hallelujah

# Hallelujah, Hallelujah... #

She might be spine free, but it's not all good news for Lauren.

-Can she drink now?

-No.

Oh, I'm going... booze cruise tomorrow!

But at least Lauren can get back to her holiday,

though it might take her a while to hobble to her hotel.

So what should we watch out for when we go for a dip?

In the five years leading to 2010,

309 UK citizens drowned whilst abroad,

and 42 of them were children.

So stay in lifeguarded areas.

Don't go into the water if you've been drinking.

You're far more likely to have an accident

or find yourself in difficulties.

And remember, water reflects the sun's ultraviolet light,

so that puts you at greater risk of burning,

even if you are feeling nice and cool.

MUSIC: "We No Speak Americano" by Yolanda Be Cool and DCUP

'Back on South Beach in Miami,

'following a string of online complaints about the Cavalier Hotel,

'Dr Lisa Ackley and I are conducting our own health and safety inspection.

'So far, Lisa's been shocked by what she found in the bedroom.'

-Look at that!

-Oh, my goodness!

'And has now sniffed out trouble in the ladies' loo.'

Right.

Overwhelming smell, as soon as we walk in here, isn't there?

-Not so pleasant, is it?

-Well...

-It's very dingy.

-It is.

It's unbelievable that this is a public area,

I mean, look at this, hair on the basin.

It's now half past three, I was here at ten o'clock,

that hair was on the basin then, I've got a picture of it,

and the state of the toilet at ten o'clock was unbelievable,

and by the smell that we have now I expect it's still the same.

I don't want to see this.

Oh, that's the reason for the smell and it's been like that

since ten o'clock this morning. That is absolutely disgusting.

Nobody has been in here to check on it or clean it.

So that's blocked? Well and truly blocked?

I'm really shocked that they should have

so little pride that they can allow the customers into a room like this.

It's unbelievable and it's a real shame.

'And I for one can't wait to get out of here.

'If that's what they let their paying guests see,

'imagine what they have behind closed doors!'

'The Cavalier rates its Crab Shack

'as the "Number One seafood restaurant on South Beach."

'Time to find out for ourselves.'

I'm actually fascinated to see what Lisa uncovers in this kitchen.

My hunch is she's going to have a field day here.

'Within 30 seconds, Lisa has already found a potentially lethal problem.'

Now this looks as if it's a raw area of the fridge,

but we've also got cooked mussels here.

Also some cooked clams.

I'd like to see those go in the bin, actually.

They're in such a ropey condition.

'A Trip Advisor survey found that nearly half of us

'have experienced food poisoning from something we ate on holiday,

'and fish and seafood are some of the worst culprits.'

That fish is so high.

It's dated the 10th, I guess the 10th of November.

That needs to go in the bin.

'Lisa calls for the kitchen manager to see what he thinks.'

-Can you smell that?

-Yeah.

-That doesn't smell good, does it?

-Yeah, it's no good.

-I think it needs to go in the bin, don't you?

-Yeah.

I think I'd feel happy if it went in the bin.

And these as well, what's happening with these?

'Miami is renowned for its fresh seafood.

'But you'd be taking your life in your hands

'tucking into some of this stuff!'

Is this the oysters?

The oysters...

-It's really fresh.

-Well, they don't look...

These have been opened some time ago

-and they're no longer alive, are they, so...

-Yeah.

They don't...

Take out whatever is...

-I don't think they look so good, do they?

-I don't like it.

-Thank you.

'The kitchen manager may have agreed to bin the oysters,

'but the smell of rotting fish just won't go away.'

I'm really worried about this because we've got...

food's being defrosted next to raw fish,

so you've got potential for a cross contamination there.

'Dodgy seafood is bad enough,

'but I've found something that won't appear on any menu.'

I moved a bit of equipment next to me

and something ran out from underneath. I think I've trapped him.

He's small, quite red, and looks to me like a cockroach.

That's not what I want to see

in the same kitchen as my lunch.

'Cockroaches are a nightmare for spreading e-coli and salmonella,

'but if you find one, there are usually plenty more.

'Lisa's on the hunt.'

Nice and warm, nice and quiet, lots of food,

lots of drink for the cockroaches,

and it's absolutely filthy.

This is an American cockroach trap.

-Oh! God!

-SHE LAUGHS

There's mice in there!

There's a cockroach collector,

a sticky board, so that mouse has got in there

and died a very nasty long death.

MUSIC: "Rat In Mi Kitchen" by UB40

'With fish rotting in the sink, shellfish way past their best

'and evidence of a mouse and cockroach infestation,

'the Cavalier's kitchen has not impressed our cleanliness expert.'

If, and I know it's a tricky question, but if you had to

mark it out of ten, I mean, just give me an indication of how bad it is.

-Minus one, probably.

-Minus one, right, it's off the scale.

-Yeah.

OK, sounds like you've seen enough here then.

I have seen enough and don't ask me for dinner here, please.

Come on, then.

'Still to come, we confront the owner with our dismal findings.'

If we were in the UK and I was an enforcement officer, I'd be saying,

"Look, don't sell any more food today." That's how worried I am.

One of the great pleasures of going on holiday in a climate like this

is returning home with that lovely, sun-kissed, golden tan.

Well, it is for me, anyway.

But I suppose most of us recognise

that actually too much sun is very damaging.

But we are just not prepared to face up to it.

This week, in our lab, we are looking at sunburn

and whether or not you can really tan safely.

A recent survey found that nearly half of us

had suffered sunburn in the last year.

And one third of us had burned so badly, we missed a day on the beach.

Having a tan may be healthy. It depends what kind of doctor you are

what risks you see associated with that.

If you are a skin doctor, you see that burning, tanning,

it all causes skin cancer. No question.

If you are any other kind of doctor, it may be the case that having

a bit of sun exposure is actually quite good for you.

No question that burning is bad for you. A burn like this,

aside from the fact it would have ruined the holiday,

it is very dangerous and this would have substantially increased

this patient's risk of skin cancer.

Explain exactly what is happening to our skin

when we are out in the sun.

Is it the equivalent of having first, second or third degree burns?

Yes. There is immediately an inflammation and a burning process.

She is literally burned by infrared radiation and ultraviolet radiation.

But more importantly, the cosmic rays have shone through the skin

and damaged the DNA.

It is that radiation, the ultraviolet radiation,

that causes mutations that lead to cancer.

Earlier, Chris persuaded me to have a very different kind of holiday snap,

one you don't normally see and one you might not want to.

# You better smile. Smile... #

My face was photographed in ultraviolet light

to see the extent of sun damage on my skin.

You can see this rather extraordinary photograph of you.

I'm freckled! That is just pickled with freckles.

You've spent a lot of time in the sun, your skin looks very good,

but we can see evidence of chronic sun exposure.

These dark freckles here which are very obvious on this.

And that does mean you are at increased risk of cancer.

We can see, if we look at some of these pictures here...

I'll show you some pictures of some cancers.

This, you might think, looks like a normal freckle,

but it has some features that would make us suspicious.

It's big, three centimetres - almost as big as the tip of my finger.

A few months ago, that probably wouldn't have been there,

or at least it would have been much, much smaller.

Here we can see an uneven colour very clearly.

This one, again, uneven colour, very irregular border

and it's quite big, a centimetre. They can itch, they grow quickly,

and that's why you have to go and get them seen.

What about protection?

Suntan bottles have always got a sun protection factor on them

that goes anything up to 50 or 60.

In theory, the higher the number, the longer you can spend in the sun.

What it means it's a multiplication

of the time you could normally spend in the sun without burning.

If you could normally spend ten minutes in the sun,

and you put on SPF 5, you could then spend 50 minutes in the sun.

But it is a complicated calculation

because you have to take into account the strength of sun,

your skin type and lots of other things. The key thing

is to understand how you tan and start by being really cautious.

What if, in spite of everything we've said,

people still go out in the sun and they still burn?

What can we do to take the pain out of that?

To feel better, take an anti-inflammatory,

aspirin's a really good one. Smear some Aloe Vera.

It won't reduce your risk of cancer,

but it will reduce the local inflammation.

Stay cool and rehydrate. Often after you have got a bad sunburn,

you end up with sunstroke. That may present as diarrhoea and vomiting.

It's about reducing your whole body inflammation

and just treat yourself well for a day.

Every year, 70,000 new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the UK,

so it really is important to keep yourself safe in the sun.

One with a good UVA protection.

Apply it generously 15 to 30 minutes before going out into the sun

and then again at least every two to three hours.

Coming up on the programme...

I learn more about the type of crime tourists are exposed to in Spain.

They distract you, you get your things taken away.

And we see how the Barr family cope when we take them back to Turkey

where they nearly lost their lives.

We decided that we weren't going to go abroad again, ever, after that.

More of us complain about hotel accommodation

than anything else to do with our holidays.

But it does seem as if no matter how much research you do,

you're never going to find out exactly what is in store for you

until you actually check in.

And that is where we come in. From grubby beds...

Look at that. Just horrible.

..to dirty fridges...

You need to stop using that fridge.

..and nasty little surprises.

Evidence of droppings over here.

These are some of the hidden menaces our crack team of inspectors

are tracking down in hotels around the world.

Colin the cockroach, he's going to have a field day in there,

he's having a party.

The Monteverde Hotel in Porto Cristo, Majorca,

has been subject to a catalogue of complaints from disgruntled guests.

It's really poor. Three blind mice could run the hotel better

than what it's actually being ran.

Rooms cost £50 a night

and outraged comments online range from the attitude of staff

to ant infestations, noisy rooms

and worries about fire safety.

The guests who are currently staying at the hotel

are not too impressed either.

We booked four rooms, we finished up with three rooms.

Four in one room, two in another and three in another.

My husband is disabled and they put him on the seventh floor.

There's only one lift. The other lift is broken. I am just appalled.

It's what you call a holiday from hell.

So we've sent in Sam Delamore, guru of health and safety.

In her ten years of inspecting hotels and public spaces,

she has seen more dirt than a bin man.

It's her mission in life to protect us all.

Ola.

Same has flown in to help manager Juan Antonio find out why

so many of his guests are unhappy.

Sure enough, as soon as Sam looks at the alarm system,

there is a massive problem.

The emergency lighting, that comes on, even if there is a power failure?

I think that would now be off

because is not...is not...is not on the two lights.

It's not switched on?

I think that this is not switched on.

Hotels are legally required to provide adequate escape lighting,

so this is a serious fault that needs to be rectified.

-Do you have any problems with bedbugs?

-No.

They live on the bed area, bite people?

No, I see photos of these, but we do not have these things.

It's just quite common with international travel.

The bugs travel on people's suitcases

and they can take them from place to place.

Sam's next port of call is the swimming pool

where she tests the chlorine levels.

Bacteria love water and warmth

and pools can harbour extremely nasty bugs if not properly managed.

I think the chlorine levels are quite low.

We can see here that you have obviously got some...

This is maybe a person that is maybe doing the wrong thing in the pool.

-Yeah.

-You don't see the person.

They all look nice there.

This pool could be home to any number of bacteria that could

seriously damage your health.

Sam finishes her inspection by taking food samples to test.

Buffet bars can be a real health hazard

and salads are always likely to be the worst offenders.

If you're worried about hygiene standards, keep to cooked foods

and bring your own fruit to the table.

These samples will be sent to the local lab.

Sam has seen enough. It's time to tell manager Juan Antonio

the results of her inspection.

She's not best pleased.

Ono checking the chlorine levels in the pool, the chlorine levels

were quite low and also the pool had quite a lot of dirt and debris.

This is a thing, that coming a little bit windy

and with the trees, a little bit...

Yes, it's not just leaves.

It looks like a scum layer is forming.

We have three filters that is cleaning every day this thing.

You might just need to check that your filters are working properly.

This is checked.

-Maybe I explain to you that maybe one person do a wrong thing.

-OK.

Job done. Sam is back to the UK to put her food samples in for testing.

Later, she got the results

which revealed levels of E. Coli and listeria.

A consumer going into that hotel,

standards are definitely not what you would expect.

Since Sam's visit, the Monteverde has closed for the winter.

We can only hope that Juan Antonio

uses this time to act on Sam's recommendations

and gives future guests the three star service they deserve.

# Help! I need somebody... #

Back in Magaluf on the island of Majorca, travel agents

Liz and Charlotte are still busy helping tourists in trouble.

Liz has arranged for their translator Isobel

to accompany DJ Jason to the police station.

But first, I want to ask Isobel about the problem of local pick pockets.

They go in groups often, they are very young ladies.

They dress normal

and you would not expect,

they just surround you and begin to chat and, in the meantime,

they distract you, you get your things taken away.

On the way to the police station, Isobel tells us

more about the dangers of taking a trip to the strip.

I think it is one of the most dangerous places

in all of the island. All things happen here, on that strip.

On that little area. It is concentrated there.

You get very angry about it, don't you?

It upsets me because it is so sad. It is really sad.

These young boys and girls so often get robbed and things like that.

As well rapes, very often, on the beach.

It is really nasty. It gets me angry.

For the next few hours, Jason's holiday is going to be spent

making a statement at the Spanish police station for Magaluf.

Jason and Isobel are now going to go in, make a report of the robbery

and try and give them a description of the women that were involved.

With a bit of luck, the police may be able to identify them,

they may get that necklace back for Jason.

But if not, at least he will have an official police report

which he can give to his insurance company.

But Jason is not the only Brit here this morning.

You're just about to go into the police station, what brings you here?

We took my father into Santa Ponsa yesterday, a place he has been

many years ago and wanted to go back and see what it was like.

And someone stole his wallet out his back pocket.

It had sentimental things.

Grandchildren, great-grandchildren pictures,

so that is what he is more concerned about.

We stopped a couple of police in the street, flagged them down,

and they said he had to come to the police station in Palma Nova.

So we just left it until today. So this is us, last day of our holiday

traipsing up to the police station.

So how do you stay out of trouble when you are abroad?

And if you do, don't wear it on the big night out.

You'll only attract trouble.

It's the easiest place to pick pocket,

so don't keep your wallet or your phone there.

Empty your purse or wallet of all nonessentials.

The more bulging it looks, the more tempting it is for thieves.

And do be careful about wandering off on your own.

Back at the office, there's good news

because Liz has managed to find a safer hotel for Emily and Natalie.

The teenagers have decided to see out their holiday.

I'm just going to write you a receipt, girls,

do your payment and then you can go round there, your room's ready.

You've got a smile on your face and you've got suitcases.

You've obviously made the decision to move?

-Your friends didn't want to come with you?

-They're all right there.

-We hope you enjoy the rest of your holiday.

-Thank you.

-Take care.

Bye.

They're so young, they're only 18.

Putting them in another hotel where they feel safe,

where they've got security, they've got cameras, key cards,

to me, I feel they can enjoy the last three days of their holiday.

Back on South Beach in Miami,

it's the moment of truth for the Cavalier Hotel.

Online reviewers have been scathing about this place,

complaining of its filthy corridors,

bug-infested beds and disgusting levels of hygiene.

With feedback like this, there seemed only one thing to do.

Book myself a room.

Joe Crowley checking in.

Health and safety expert Dr Lisa Ackerley and I

have been examining every nook and cranny

and have discovered that this really is a hotel of horrors.

That needs to go in the bin.

So we've summoned hotel manager Ralph to discuss our findings.

The female restroom, one of the toilets is in a really bad state.

-Really?

-And it has been all day.

It's blocked and it's really not nice at all.

No-one was checking that room

because the same hairs were on the basin all day long.

From ten o'clock through to now.

We also did a test for dust mites on the mattress using a Hoover

and a special kit.

We actually found

there is quite a high level of dust mite on the mattress.

Moving onto the kitchen.

I'm afraid we did find some cockroaches today and a dead mouse.

And I'm not surprised, given the level of dirt that was underneath

that area, that you've got an infestation there.

One of the things I was worried about in the chiller

is you had no idea how long that stuff had been in there.

It's not there very long. We turn the food around very, very fast.

If we were in the UK and I was an enforcement officer,

I'd be saying, don't sell any more food today,

I'm going to close you while you get cleaned up.

-That's how worried I am.

-Is this news to you?

Were you aware that the place was not as clean as it could be?

Do you feel on top of all the cleaning?

We're aware of it now.

Every once in a while, we do do a deep cleaning,

but we probably need to do it more often.

It seems to be a bit out of control from what Lisa has said.

I'm not sure it is out of control

other than they probably were a little lazy.

They know what they're supposed to do.

Those are things I'll look into right now.

It just needs to be taken by the scruff of the neck

and given a bit of a shake.

It doesn't seem that anyone knows

who is responsible for the bathrooms downstairs and cleaning those.

Just refreshing everyone's responsibilities, geeing them up

and putting some good systems in place.

And the attitude that makes these things possible.

Absolutely. I agree.

'I really hope Ralph takes Lisa's findings seriously.

'Right now, he seems to be making the right noises.'

That was very good feedback.

These are the kind of things you typically don't get to see

when you're sitting behind a desk

and you don't go upstairs all the time.

I'm going to get started on those recommendations tomorrow morning.

Fingers crossed we've now saved this hotel's reputation.

Remember the Barr family?

They suffered second and third degree burns while on holiday in Turkey.

It was a shocking tale

and a country they once loved became a place of bad memories.

The accident affected the family physically, emotionally

and financially.

Kirsty and Tony have even been put off going abroad ever again.

To help them overcome their ordeal, we've invited the family

back to Turkey to put their last trip firmly in the past.

We have brought the Barrs to Bodrum on the Turkish coast

where I'm catching up with them.

When we got invited to come back to Turkey,

-the thought of it just put terror in you... You were frightened.

-Yes.

Once you've been involved in a freak accident like that,

it just makes you aware that these things do happen.

It's just made us nervy in general.

I know you said you were nervy and anxious about coming

but, physically, how are you coping? You look as if you're healing.

I'm fine. I just got a few burns here and there.

I couldn't go to work for about three months. I was off work.

It took its toll.

Was it just Turkey you were worried about

-or did it put you off travel altogether?

-Anything abroad.

We decided that we weren't going to go abroad again ever after that.

Hopefully, a bit of family fun in the sun

will help them change their minds.

The whole point of this is to give the family

better lasting memories of Turkey and, so far, I think it's working.

That is amazing.

That evening, I'm keen to find out whether the trip has been a success.

You didn't want to come back, but I'm glad you did. How's it been?

We've had a really good time. We're going to come back again.

-You're going to come back?

-Definitely.

You were saying you were never flying again,

let alone going to Turkey, never going on a foreign holiday

and you're here saying you might come back in a month!

-It's what happened.

-Has it helped you draw a line under what happened?

I think, half of it. The physical things are going,

but the mental things would never have gone.

-They just get bigger and bigger.

-That's the trouble.

Do you think if you hadn't come back,

this could have become something insurmountable?

Little molehills become mountains if you don't overcome them.

You learn by your mistakes. Don't travel without travel insurance.

Holiday insurance should be compulsory.

Like to drive a car, you have car insurance.

I think they should make it compulsory.

I'm delighted that you came and thank you for letting me gatecrash your holiday.

-To the Barrs and many more foreign trips.

-Cheers!

# Today this could be

# The greatest day of our lives... #

That is it from the Holiday Hit Squad for this week.

On next week's programme...

I'm in Greece where a rundown hotel's health and safety manual

seems to have gone up in smoke.

The smoke alarm, where is it? There isn't one.

We're with a couple

whose view from their Thai hotel was a work in progress.

There was just a construction site going on next door.

And we're in Spain at the one place you don't want to visit as a tourist.

-He said that it's broken.

-It is broken?

-Yes.

-Until the next time, from all of us, goodbye.

-Goodbye.

-Goodbye.