AN insurance company is refusing to pay to fly home an RAF war hero who died on holiday.

Ronald Peters, aged 88, was in Menorca with four friends when he suffered a fatal heart attack at their villa on the last day of their break.

Now his family face a bill of £3,000 after insurance company Europ Assistance said it will not pay to fly his body home because he had not disclosed on his policy that he had a minor heart attack 30 years ago.

Grandson Max Flanigan, who has flown to the UK from his New Zealand home, said: “I feel let down by the insurance company. We’re bitterly disappointed and they have been very cold with us.”

Mr Peters’ family are now considering flying out to Menorca to have him cremated before returning to the UK with his ashes because the cost of flying his body home is so expensive.

During the Second World War, Mr Peters was a rear gunner on a Lancaster bomber — one of the most dangerous jobs in the RAF.

He took part in the Normandy campaign in 1944 and was awarded the prestigious Distinguished Flying Cross.

A spokesman for Europ Assistance said: “One of the requirements of the policy is that customers must declare their pre-existing medical condition. Unfortunately, Mr Peters failed to declare a pre-existing medical condition that was relevant to his cause of death.

“We do sympathise with the family of Mr Peters. However, as an insurer we have a responsibility to all customers to collect the correct premium from them for the risk that they present.”

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