Fake food poisoning claim holidaymaker fined after ex-girlfriend filmed him dancing Gangnam Style

Liam Royle was pictured swimming when he claimed to be ill.

Dancing Gangnam Style by the side of a swimming pool in Cyprus, Liam Royle appears full of life.

Yet according to him, he was suffering from food poisoning he had developed while on his holiday - experiencing stomach cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting.

The 23-year-old made a fraudulent sickness claim against Jet2holidays, stating that he suffered from "personal injury" and a "loss of enjoyment" while staying at Papantonia Hotel Apartments, and also "missed meals, excursions, swimming time and other general activities".

However, when Royle's former girlfriend became aware of his dishonesty, she contacted the company with a rather incriminating dossier which showed that instead on his holiday, Royle visited the nearby town of Ayia Napa, where he walked around the shops and ate a McDonalds, did not miss meals, drank beer and cocktails, swam in the pool, and was even filmed dancing Gangnam Style.

Instead, the woman who wishes to remain anonymous continued, the 2015 holiday was "fabulous".

In light of the evidence, Jet2holidays challenged the Manchester man's claim, and a district judge ruled that he was "fundamentally dishonest" and ordered he pay the company more than £6,000 in costs.

Following the findings on Royle, Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2 and Jet2holidays warned that: "Anyone making a fake sickness claim should be fully aware that we will robustly investigate and defend any claims that are dishonest or illegitimate."

Liam Royle has been fined £6,000 after launching his fake claim.

Royle is not alone in making fake sickness claims, with Brits earning a reputation as the "fake sick man of Europe" in some quarters, after unscrupulous businesses and touts were able to exploit a legal loophole and encourage a huge rise in fake sickness claims over recent years.

Between 2013 and 2016, fake claims from UK holidaymakers rose 500% to 35,000, yet only around one in 40 are genuine.

However, in 2018, new rules were introduced in a bid to combat such claims, amid fears they would push up holiday costs for all, due to holiday companies having to make numerous payouts.