A COUPLE are warning holidaymakers to be on their guard – after a fire alarm at their hotel failed to go off as a blaze raged outside.

Stacey Dunne and her partner Steven says guests were left in their beds as the fire spread through a forest 20ft from their hotel in Menorca.

Stacey, aged 25, said guests smashed the alarm covers but the smoke alarms failed to go off and in the panic reps left guests sleeping in their rooms oblivious to the danger.

She said her family only woke up after someone banged on their room door in the early hours to warn them of the danger.

Now she has decided to speak out as a warning to other guests travelling with Thomson this summer after a rash of similar fires.

Stacey and Steven, aged 38, and their daughter Amelia, aged two, were enjoying their week long stay at the Marina Parc hotel when the fire broke out last May.

The 25-year-old, of Kildaire Street, Farnworth, said: “It is just pure luck that the hotel didn’t burn down. There was no noise or warning as the smoke and fire alarms weren’t working. You could see the boxes where the glass had been smashed but they just didn’t work. The flames and the heat were terrifying - the hills surrounding the hotel were ablaze. It was chaos.

“If the fire came into the hotel I dread to think what would have happened. It could easily have been a holiday horror. The fire was so intense people wouldn’t have stood a chance. People have a right to know. I couldn’t live with myself if something similar happened in a Thomson resort this summer and people were badly injured and I hadn’t warned people.”

Stacey – who was pregnant at the time with her second daughter Evelyn - added: “We went to the balcony and looked out and there was just a massive wall of red fire everywhere just behind the pool it was terrifying and so near.”

They grabbed their daughter and made for the exit and wondered why there had been no fire alarm to warn them of the danger.

She spotted shards of glass on the floor next to smashed fire alarm boxes and were later told despite being set off the fire alarm didn’t work.

She added: “I couldn’t believe how lucky we had been. Now I know why people get caught up and die in those fires as it is so fast and big.”

Stacey and her partner both later complained to Thomson detailing all the things that had gone wrong and after receiving an unsatisfactory response are now contacting ABTA with their concerns.

She added: “We were lucky but the next family who goes away may not be. I just want to make sure all their resorts are up to scratch to prevent a tragedy.”

Travel lawyer Simon Lomax, of Simpson Millar solicitors, said guests safety should be paramount abroad. He added:” All staff should be adequately trained in emergency procedures but it appears in this case this was lacking.

“It is very concerning to hear the alarms failed as this is the early warning system. Tour operators need to do more to ensure guests safety.”

A spokesman for Thompson said: “We’re sorry to hear of the Dunne family’s experience when they were on holiday with us last year. We can confirm that due to nearby forest fires it was necessary to temporarily evacuate guests staying at the Marina Parc Hotel in Arenal d'en Castell, Menorca. While fire prevention and evacuation procedures are the responsibility of the hotels we operate to, we work with them and a third party expert to closely audit all resorts to which we operate to ensure that health, hygiene and comfort levels are maintained in line with industry standards. In this instance, our resort team acted quickly and worked closely with our hotel partner and the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of our customers – and there were no injuries to any customers or staff and no damage to the hotel.

“Following the fire, we were made aware of concerns that the fire alarm did not sound effectively in one area of the hotel which was investigated and urgently rectified. In the interim an overnight safety patrol process was introduced throughout the hotel, and a small number of guests who raised safety concerns at the time were offered alternative accommodation. In line with our standard procedures, the Marina Parc hotel was re-audited prior to guests arriving this summer.”