THE parents of a 10-year-old girl who contracted salmonella during a nightmare holiday in Egypt are taking legal action.

Michelle Muzquiz and James Monks' daughter Jasmin, who was nine at the time, fell ill on returning home after contracting food poisoning.

Her parents also fell ill with gastric illness days into their week-long honeymoon holiday at the Coral Sea Waterworld, in October 2013.

Now the couple from Westhoughton have instructed solicitors Irwin Mitchell to investigate and work to gain compensation from tour operator TUI UK for their ordeal.

The firm of solicitors is already representing 12 other people affected by similar problems at the same resort following holidays in 2012.

Mrs Muzquiz, aged 33, a legal costs draftsman at Asons Solicitors, said: “We were both feeling very rough and it was massively disappointing considering this was supposed to be a special holiday.

"We arranged childcare for Jasmin whilst James and I went on our honeymoon but it fell through last minute.

"This meant that we had to take Jasmin with us. When James and I fell ill, we hoped that Jasmin had avoided the illness completely, so we were devastated when she started to show symptoms when we came home."

After returning home, the family sought emergency medical advice when Jasmin, a pupil at St George's Primary School in Westhoughton, was suffering from severe abdominal pains.

She was taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital, where she stayed for four days of treatment and tests, which confirmed she was suffering from salmonella.

Mrs Muzquiz added: “It is any parent’s worst nightmare to see their child in hospital — we just felt so helpless and frustrated that her illness was so severe.

“We hoped that this holiday would be a special time that we could look back on fondly, but instead we’ll look back on it for all the wrong reasons.

"We simply want to know how our daughter came to develop salmonella and hope others don’t have to go through what she has.”

Michelle said that the family only ate at the resort during their stay, but they do not know what caused the illness.

Jatinder Paul, a solicitor and travel lawyer at Irwin Mitchell who is representing the family, said: “This is a terrible case in which a special family holiday and a time of celebration was completely ruined by illness.

"Jasmin was left so severely ill that she required emergency hospital treatments.

"This type of incident puts a clear spotlight on the serious consequences that holiday illness can have, particularly on children such as Jasmin, and we have now commenced our own investigations into what caused the illnesses that Jasmin, her family and our other clients endured.

"We are determined to not only help them get the financial redress they deserve, but also ensure that, wherever possible, lessons are be learned which may help reduce the risks that other holidaymakers could face in the future."

The firm is also asking anyone who has stayed at the resort who may have had similar experiences to contact them.

TUI UK was unavailable for comment.