Long-awaited honeymoon ends in ‘disaster’ for Tyneside couple after fuse box fire in apartment

A Tyneside couple says a long-awaited honeymoon with Jet2 ended in disaster after the apartment set on fire.

Clare and Andrew Carr from Newcastle had delayed their honeymoon because Clare was undergoing chemotherapy for a brain tumour when they got married.

The Forest Hall couple had booked 19 days in Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands.

They say the holiday was for relaxation and recovery after the hard time they had faced during Clare’s cancer treatment.

Clare, who was alone in the apartment when the fire started, said: "The lights began to flicker and then there was an almighty bang and I could see that the fuse box, which was behind the entrance door, was on fire and fuses inside it were exploding.

"Because of where the fuse box was, I could not use the door, so I ran on to the balcony and shouted for help before I rang Andrew.

“Two guests from downstairs heard my yells and ran to ask reception to call the emergency services. I was absolutely frantic.

“I couldn't get out of the door and the apartment was on the second floor, so I couldn't jump down.

“It was awful for Andrew because he could see the state I was in and couldn't do anything to help me, until he had the idea of standing on a chair and a barman climbed on his shoulders up to my balcony, grabbed a towel and ran me out the apartment past the burning fuse box.

"The room we were moved to had no smoke alarm, which completely freaked us out after what I had just been through, so we spent the night terrified the same would happen again and coughing because of the smoke inhalation."When Clare was found to have bronchitis after the incident, which she claims required two lots of medication, three days of nebulisers and five visits to the medical centre.

After being moved for a second time, they claim the kettle tripped in their room, causing Clare to panic again.

She said: "We paid Jet2 £1770 for the holiday, without spending money, and it was not the holiday we had booked, looked forward to or paid for. Instead, it was a complete disaster.

"We have lost lots of days dealing with the fire, cleaning all of our things, washing our clothes, and attending the medical centre.

“I am very weak from the cancer treatment and having bronchitis so my husband had to do everything, so it was far from a break for him.

“Three months later, I am very traumatised by the whole incident, it has affected my sleep and I need to make sure I am by a door so can escape if I need to."

Jet2 says the hotel "complies with local health and safety requirements" and offered a £300 voucher as compensation.

A Jet2 spokesman said: “We are sorry to hear about Mr and Mrs Carr's experience and would like to apologise for any upset caused.

“Our teams did all they could to support Mr and Mrs Carr, after the fuse box tripped causing a small fire limited to the fuse box with smoke being produced.“The health and safety of our customers will always be our number one priority and following a thorough investigation we can confirm that the hotel complies with local health and safety requirements.”

Clare says she thinks they should be compensated for the full value of the holiday, "Jet2 just don't seem to care. I have written to the chief executive seven times and he has not bothered to reply to any of the emails. It just doesn't seem right.

"I have been told that my tumour will come back and it will shorten my life, so we are just trying to live each day to the fullest and experience as much as we can while I am able.

"We were regular Jet2 customers - we would normally have two holidays a year - but this has made us so angry. The company just doesn't seem to have any empathy at all."